Tribulations
by AhmoseInarus
Summary: SLASH Reid/OC UnSub non-con A case falls into the hands of the BAU, but it turns out that the UnSub was targeting them all along. He has chosen SSA Spencer Reid to pay the price, and now it's a race against time to save more than just his life...
1. Chapter 1

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Reid stared at the back of Morgan… He was flirting with one of the female agents. Reid smirked and took aim… Then, he fired

"HEY!!" Morgan yelped, whirling. Reid's eyes widened and he grinned, ducking down behind his desk. "Oh, no you did not!" Morgan's voice thundered across the Bull Pen. "Reid!"

Reid burst into 'oh shit' laughter and stumbled away from his desk. "No no no! Garcia! Help!" He shouted, scrambling to get away from Morgan, who was leaping over desks. Garcia gasped as Reid jumped behind her. She stood there, screaming and scolding Morgan and Reid as they danced around her, Reid trying to keep her between Morgan and himself, and Morgan trying to tackle Reid. Emily sat at her desk, laughing and grabbing the squirt fun from Reid's desk.

"Okay boys, enough. Stop where you are and put your hands on your head!" She called, trying not to laugh. Rossi appeared in the doorway of his office and raised an eyebrow at the… juvenile scene unfolding in the BAU office of the FBI.

"What's going on?" JJ called, poking her head out of her office.

"… Apparently a childish war." Rossi responded and JJ grinned, watching as Garcia had finally had enough and started beating Morgan and Reid off with her handbag.

"I am NOT home base in a game of tag! I am a lady, I am your Mistress of Knowledge!" She shrieked, swinging her bag and whacking Reid in the shoulder. Reid grunted and ran. "I will NOT be disrespected!" and she brought the bag down on Morgan's head.

"Ow! Garcia!"

"Do NOT use me in your games!" Garcia scolded.

"Sorry, baby girl." Morgan said, kissing her cheek. "I'll make it up to you. But first, Brainiac is going DOWN!" And he charged after Reid.

"Oh shit!" Reid giggled, running up the stairs and across the walkway past JJ, Rossi and Hotch's office. Agent Hotchner was on his phone. He blinked and made a double take, watching Reid run by. A moment later, Morgan followed. He frowned, lowering the phone and standing. He hung up and walked to the door, opening it and leaning out.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Morgan is trying to kill Reid." Rossi said, smirking and watching through the windows as Morgan chased Reid around the meeting table.

"JJ…" Hotch sighed. "Do we have a case yet? I think they need something to do."

"Come on, boss." JJ said, grinning. "We're all in a good mood. Vacations do that for people. Speaking of which, I wish I had your tan, Emily!" She called, and Emily grinned, waving. JJ looked back at Hotch. "There's nothing wrong with cutting loose from time to time." She said, watching as Morgan launched himself over the table and tackled Reid.

"OW!" Reid yelped as he disappeared from view.

"… I don't need Morgan breaking Reid's arm." Hotchner snorted.

"He won't." Rossi chuckled, watching as Morgan stood, Reid tossed over his shoulder.

"Nuh uh, pretty boy. It's payback time." Morgan said, walking out of the room, holding tightly to Reid who was flailing desperately.

"No! No no no no no! JJ! JJ! Help!!!"

"Sorry Spence. You're on your own." JJ laughed, watching the pair pass by before walking to Hotch's office. "Here's the new case." She said, eyes laughing. Hotchner watched as Morgan carried Reid over to the mini kitchen and opened the refrigerator, Reid begging for mercy.

"Come in." He said, and JJ stepped into his office.

"This one is pretty sick." JJ said. "He's targeting law enforcement. Somehow, he knows all about them. Different people all over the country. The victims have nothing in common other than their link to law enforcement. He looks into the cases they've worked in the past. Finds what cases affected them more than others. Then he creates a whole new case, combining elements of the most traumatic cases in these peoples' careers. There are two victims, ultimately. The one he's tormenting, and the one he abducted to torment them with. Hotch, this one is really scary." Hotchner looked at her.

"Get everyone in the meeting room." He said, just as Reid's shrieks filled the BAU office.

Five minutes later, Hotchner stared at his team sitting around the table, Reid with dripping wet hair after Morgan had dumped a pitcher of water over his head.

"Man, don't even go there with those puppy eyes." Morgan snorted, giving Reid a look. Reid's eyes widened, feigning innocence. "You got what you had coming to you, pretty boy."

"Don't look at me, sugar." Garcia said. "I will NOT help you here."

"Face it, Reid. You asked for it." Emily said, grinning.

"Alright, children, enough." Rossi called, trying not to smile.

"JJ?" Hotch prompted.

"Right, sir." She said, and the screen behind her lit up. "This UnSub has been active all over the country. He targets members of law enforcement. He becomes familiar with their career… the cases they've worked. He takes bits and pieces… key details from the cases that stood out in their lives. He combines these key elements into a whole new, mutated crime. He takes someone close to them. Abducts them. And they become the focus of his sick mind.

"He gives his target a disposable cell phone and a video receiver, and he streams a live feed to it of what he does to their loved one… and the target sees every haunting detail of past cases in this… twisted amalgam… When the UnSub is resting, the target can talk to the victim over the disposable cell… it's a psychological torture… they are able to comfort each other, give false hope... No one has been able to trace either the cell or receiver signal. Ultimately, he kills the loved one. He waits until his target has reached the breaking point. And then, when he knows the target is watching, he kills the victim

"So far, the bodies have been dumped on the doorstep of the victim's residence, left in their offices, on the outside steps of the building where they work. And the UnSub disappears. Until he takes a new victim and starts to torment a new target."

"Targeting law enforcement, figures of authority… this is about power." Reid said, flicking his fingers and looking around the table.

"Victims have been of different ages, genders, different relations to the targets… spouses, parents, children, best friends…" Emily listed off.

"Same with the targets." Rossi said, leaning back in his chair.

"He's taunting them." Reid said, running a hand through his wet hair. "Someone in law enforcement believes that their positions gives them some sort of protections against crimes like this. And even if it does happen, that they will have some sort of control over it. They will be able to easily handle it. This UnSub is destroying their safety, and showing them that not only are they just as vulnerable as everyone else, but that their so called "position of safety" is what made them a target in the first place."

"So he's trying to scare them." Emily said.

"No, it's more than that." Reid said. "It's making them feel completely helpless. Doing this to someone will destroy their sense of security. I mean… these people will never feel safe again! It's their job to keep people safe, but they can't even protect their own loved ones."

"Victimology won't help all that much… The only relation between them is that they're in law enforcement, and have had a handful of more interesting cases that the UnSub can play with." Morgan added in. "No geographical profiling will help either. He's hit all over the country. Dallas, Houston, Orlando, L.A, Vegas, Portland, Kansas City, Chicago..." He looked up. "Eleven cases… and no one has caught this guy?!"

"Why weren't we called in sooner?" Hotchner asked, frowning at JJ.

"I… I don't know." JJ said with a meek shrug. "There's been one a month for the past year."

"Have any of the local law enforcement managed to find out WHERE the UnSub took the victims?" Reid asked.

"Only one." JJ said. "It was in a small rural community in Wyoming. They found the crime scene in a barn. On accident. The property was for sale. When it was finally purchased, a couple of months after the incident, the new owner found it." Hotchner nodded.

"Alright. Garcia, man your station. We are going to split up the crime scenes, I want to send those of you who are familiar with an area TO that area. Reid, take Vegas. I'm also giving you the case files from the smaller towns to look over." Reid nodded. "Morgan, Chicago. Rossi, take Dallas and Houston. Emily, take Portland and L.A. I'll take Kansas City. We meet back here in two days. Try to find the crime scenes. Good hunting, everyone." And the team took off.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reid had no problem flipping through the files and memorizing their contents, but there really wasn't anything helpful. When he got to Las Vegas, he met with the local Bureau Head. They spent several hours going over the case, but they didn't have much luck.

"The crime scene CAN'T be too far out of town… Are there any abandoned properties within a hundred miles of the city, Garcia?" He asked the woman over the phone.

"… Uh, you and the others are SO gonna owe me for this. The others are all asking me the same thing. I'll do the same search for you that I did for them, only for the Las Vegas area." She said, and Reid smiled.

"That's great, Garcia. When we close this case, I owe you dinner."

"I'll hold you to your word, sugar."

"I know. Later Garcia."

"Bye honey. Time to talk to the boss man. I'll back with your information." And their line was disconnected. She had called back almost an hour later, sound VERY harassed. "I'm faxing it now. Don't bug me unless you need it." And she hung up abruptly. Reid blinked at the phone, then smiled to himself, pocketing it. With five people out in the field in different places, all calling her for different information, she was probably going out of her mind. Reid had a feeling that they would all be hearing about it later.

There were seven secluded properties outside of town that were abandoned and/or for sale. The fourth one, and Reid hit pay dirt.

"… Wow." Gasped the deputy with him.

"Hm." Reid said, looking around in focused interest.

"This reminds me of that one case…" The deputy said, slowly wandering in. "This guy insisted that women were no more than… livestock. And he treated them as such. Kept them in a stable, had them eating and drinking from troughs… hobbled them like horses if they tried to escape. If they disobeyed, he would beat them."

Reid nodded. "I read about that case." He said, looking over equipment that was used to care for horses, but was instead used on innocent women. "And this one… he carved his name into his victims, messages all indicating that he was branding them as his own… only this victim had the TARGET'S name carved into her skin… And this crime scene…" Reid continued, flipping through photos of the crime scenes that the UnSub had been mimicking. "A girl died, a victim of some psycho thinking he's a vampire… so YOUR victim was found with puncture wounds on her neck and drained of blood…"

"Well… here's your crime scene, Dr. Reid."

"… Call in CSI."

* * *

"Reid…" Garcia said flatly. "All of these cases are creepy. But YOURS creeped me out more than any…" Reid smiled slightly.

"Riding crops scare you, Garcia?"

"Ooh… Kinkiness from the good Dr. Reid."

"Enough." Hotch said. They had just finished going over what crime scenes they had found. They had been unable to locate the ones in Kansas City, Portland and Dallas… Local authorities were still searching, but…

"The problem with this case is that this guy doesn't have his own M.O." Reid said, frowning and tapping a pencil on the table. "He's… stealing the M.O. of other killers. And not just ANY killers, unique ones. There's no… pattern regarding location… just… members of law enforcement who had worked strange cases…"

"He leaves no evidence behind… he knows to take forensic counter measures to avoid detection." Hotch said slowly.

"So now what?" Emily asked, leaning back.

"We get some rest." Hotchner said. "Look at it again in the morning."

"Let me take all of the files." Reid said. "Look over them tonight. See if I can find any pattern."

"Our boy has NO life." Morgan murmured to Garcia.

"… Don't over work yourself Reid." Hotchner said, watching Reid gather up all the information into a box.

"Yes, sir." Reid said, picking up the box and shuffling out.

"Reid!" Garcia called, following him. "You can't take the subway home with that thing. Come on, I'll drive you."

* * *

Reid sighed, sitting on his sofa and staring at the floor. He had moved his furniture and had crime scene photos scattered in organized chaos before him. He sighed, frowning, then removed his glasses and leaned back, rubbing his eyes before setting them aside and letting his head rest on the back of the sofa, closing them for a few seconds. The crime scene photos were starting to blend together. There were the pictures of crime scenes… and the pictures of the crime scenes that were a recreated mixture of the first crime scenes… now THEY were blurring together. Crime scenes combined with crime scenes combined with crime scenes.

"… This is mind numbing." He groaned, then slowly stood. He had loosened his tie earlier, but now he pulled it off completely and headed into the bathroom, turning on the shower. He removed his clothes slowly, blinking tired eyes and yawning. He dropped his clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water poured over him. He closed his eyes, relaxing for a moment before grabbing the soap. He blinked and stopped when he thought he heard a creak…

"… Hello?" He called, poking his head around the shower curtain. The door of the bathroom was ajar, just as he had left it. The hallway was empty. "Hm." And he ducked back into the shower. He shampooed his hair, and tilted his head back under the stream, rinsing it out. He lowered his head again, wiping water from his face and opened his eyes. He froze, his heart nearly stopping. He was staring down the barrel of his own gun…

"Hello, Dr. Reid." Came a voice, smooth as velvet… Reid slowly looked past the gun, to the black gloved hand, up the arm of the jacket and to the man's face. But it was covered. The man was wearing a plain black mask covering his entire face. It was a cheap plastic thing, the kind that you could buy for a dollar around Halloween from Wal*Mart or something… Reid swallowed thickly. His eyes darted back and forth between the gun, the mask and the video camera in the intruder's other hand.

"Step out of the shower, please." The voice said calmly, and the man backed away, pushing the shower curtain aside with the hand holding the gun. "Hands where I can see them, Dr. Reid. And don't talk. If you think that you can talk me into 'doing the right thing' and 'redeeming' myself, don't. You'll just make my finger… tense up." Reid nodded slightly, putting his hands up and stepping out of the shower, glancing longingly at the waiting towel.

"Dry yourself off." The man commanded. "Slowly. I'm watching you."

"What?!" Reid yelped, eyes wide. There was a pause, then the man barked out a laugh.

"Not like that." He snorted. Reid flushed and averted his eyes, grabbing the towel and drying himself off. "Turn off the water." Reid nodded and turned, leaning over and turning off the shower. "The bedroom. Go." Reid turned and stepped around the man and walked down the hall and into his bedroom. He was thoroughly relieved when the man told him to get dressed. He went to the closet and pulled out a button up shirt.

"No." The man said. "Not for work. For bed." Reid stared at the man.

"What? Why?" He asked. The man's eyes flashed behind the mask, and Reid yelped as the man hit him… He fell back against the dresser, lifting a hand to his temple. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.

"Don't ask questions. Just do as you're told." The man snapped. "Get dressed." Reid nodded, hands shaking, and pulled on gray sweat pants and a navy blue T shirt with the FBI logo on it. He turned and eyed the intruder out of the corner of his eyes, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Good. Now let's go." The man said, flicking the gun towards the door. Reid paused, but then decided not to push it. He walked out of his bedroom and out into the living room.

"Keep going." The man instructed. "Out back of the building." Reid blinked, but nodded and walked out into the apartment corridor and down the stairs.

The ground in the alley was ice cold on his bare feet, and the wind made him shiver. He blinked. A black Dodge Ram pickup sat there. It was nondescript. It had a silver chest in the bed of it, right behind the cab.

"Get in the back." The man said. Reid turned his head slightly, then faced forwards again. The tailgate was open. He crawled onto it and slid into the bed of the pickup, his heart racing. "On your knees, face the front." The man growled. "Hands on your head." Reid obeyed. He focused on the window on the back of the cab, and his own reflection, pale and frightened, and behind him loomed the black figure. Reid blinked. The man had put down the gun, but was pulling something out of his pocket. Reid heard a crackling sound at the same time he saw electrical sparks. Then, there was a sharp burning pain in his lower back, and everything went black…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	2. Chapter 2

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Hotchner walked into the meeting room, looking through the file that had been faxed to him. He looked up at the team. "Where's Reid?" He asked.

"… He's not here yet." Garcia said. Hotch blinked.

"Not here yet?" He asked, turning and looking out into the bull pen. Reid's desk was just as he had left it last night. Hotch frowned. The first think that popped into his head was that Reid was never late. The only time he ever was… he thought. It was back when Reid was struggling with his Dilaudid addiction…

"Call him." Hotch said. The others looked at one another, and Morgan pulled out his cell phone, dialing. He sat there with the phone to his ear for several long seconds. "… voicemail." He said, and hung up, then dialed another number. "… Same with his home phone." Hotch frowned.

"How long does it take Reid to get here?"

"… thirty minutes to an hour, depending on whether or not he misses his train." Garcia said, shrugging.

Hotch nodded. "Okay, come back in an hour." He said and returned to his office. Forty five minutes later, he hung up his phone and walked out of his office. "Reid?"

"Not yet." Emily said. Hotch frowned.

"Call him again."

"Yes sir." Morgan sighed, and called. "… Voicemail on both, Hotch." Hotchner frowned and turned, heading into Garcia's office.

"Garcia. Can you track Reid's phone?" He asked.

"Spying on the good doctor?" She asked. "Hm. That's hot."

"Garcia, just do it."

"And you have won a free trip for two to… Reid's home address." Garcia said.

"Garcia, keep calling him." Hotch said, and went back to the bull pen. "Morgan, with me."

"Where we goin, boss?"

"Reid's place."

"I'm driving!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You know… I've never been to Reid's place…" Morgan said as they climbed the stairs.

"None of us have. Except maybe Gideon." Hotchner said.

"This is it." Morgan said, and knocked on the door. They waited for a good ten seconds with no response. Morgan knocked again. "Hey Reid!" He called. "Come on, man, open up!" There was still no response. Hotch frowned and reached out, turning the knob… the door swung open. Morgan looked at Hotchner. The pair slowly walked in, hands on their guns. "Reid?" Morgan called.

"Reid!" Hotch added.

"… We have GOT to get our boy a social life, Hotch." Morgan snorted, eyeing the floor to ceiling bookshelves that covered the walls, and the crime scene photos that covered the floor.

"Hear that?" Hotchner said.

"Sounds like an alarm clock." Morgan said. Hotch turned and walked down the hallway, keeping his hand on his gun. He reached the bedroom and pushed open the door. It swung open with a little squeak. The lamp by the bed was on, and the alarm clock sat on the bedside table, screaming insistently. Hotch walked over and shut it off. Morgan walked in.

"Clothes he was wearing yesterday are on the bathroom floor." Morgan said. Hotch looked at him, and walked back out to the living room and into the kitchen.

"He has an automatic coffee maker." Hotch said, frowning and walking over. "The pot is full. And cold." He looked at Morgan.

"That ain't like Reid." Morgan said pointedly, going back out into the living room. "Hotch..." Hotchner went back out into the entrance hall. There was a table behind the door. Sitting on it was Reid's cell phone. Morgan picked it up and checked the records. "Nothin' since yesterday afternoon, other than my calls this morning."

"So where is he?" Hotch asked, frowning. "Let's get back to the BAU."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When they got back, the team was standing around Reid's desk. They all looked at Morgan and Hotch, looking worried.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"Package." Rossi said. "Just arrived. We were trying to decide whether or not to wait for you to get back before opening it. Addressed to the Colleagues of Dr. Spencer Reid."

Hotch frowned and walked over, picking up a letter opener from Emily's desk. The others hung over silently while he opened the package. It was filled with bubble wrap. He pulled out a lump and unwrapped it on the table.

"… Oh God." Garcia gasped. Out fell Reid's gun, his badge and credentials, and a DVD.

"Garcia." Hotchner said, handing her the disk. "Now." She stared down at it, then nodded and walked away. The group followed her to her office where she sat down and put the disk into her computer. She glanced back at the others, took a deep breath, and hit 'Play'.

"… That's Reid's apartment." Morgan said, immediately. The camera moved out of the kitchen, carried by hand, and moved to focus on the floor where the crime scene photos were scattered.

"… I see I'm finally on your radar…" A voice almost… purred. "My work…" A gloved hand reached out and moved some of the photos around. "I mimic the work of others… I combine them and make something better. It's such a fun game. This is going to be the most important one of all… the one that will make me… or break me…" The voice continued. The camera moved up. "The target is you. And I have chosen my victim."

"Target?" Garcia repeated, weakly. "Victim?"

"Shh." Rossi hissed. The camera moved across the room and down the hall. There was a loud creak, and the person carrying the camera froze. At the end of the hall was the bathroom. The shower was running. The camera suddenly jumped and spun, and Reid's bedroom was seen, upside down.

"Hello?" They heard Reid call.

"Oh God…" Garcia whimpered. A moment later, the camera was up and moving down the hall again. Slowly, the bathroom door was pushed open, and a gun was raised into the frame. The shower was running behind the dark green shower curtain. Slowly, it was pushed aside and the camera panned over until it was centered on Reid, showing him from mid chest up.

"Oh, God, Reid…"

Reid had his head back and eyes closed, the water from the shower running over him. He lowered his head and wiped the water from his face, then opened his eyes. There was a brief moment of confusion, followed by shocked realization. Reid's eyes widened and he froze, staring at the gun, HIS gun, which was pointed directly at his chest.

"Hello, Dr. Reid." Said the voice. The team watched in horrified silence as Reid's eyes slowly slid up from the gun, to the face of the intruder. He swallowed and his eyes began to flick around between the gun, the man, and the camera. He was shaking slightly.

The camera moved back. "Step out of the shower, please. Hands where I can see them, Dr. Reid. And don't talk. If you think that you can talk me into 'doing the right thing' and 'redeeming' myself, don't. You'll just make my finger… tense up." They watched the shower curtain being pushed out of the way. Slowly, hands up, Reid stepped out of the shower. He kept his eyes mostly on the gun, but his eyes flicked off to the right a couple of the times. "Dry yourself off. Slowly. I'm watching you." Reid blinked and raised his eyebrows, shaking his head slightly.

"What?!" He blurted, looking alarmed and embarrassed.

The man laughed, harshly. "… Not like that." Reid turned red and looked away, then reached off to the right. His hand came back holding a towel, and he dried himself off. "Turn off the water." Reid did as he was told. "To the bedroom. Go." The man said, and stepped to the side, allowing Reid to walk around and get in front of him. The camera followed Reid down the hall. A grateful look crossed Reid's face when the man said, "Get dressed." Reid laid his towel on the bed and moved to the closet, reaching for something on a hanger.

"No." The man said, and Reid stopped. "Not for work. For bed." Reid blinked and raised his eyebrows in surprise again, slowly turning and looking at the man, nervously.

"… What? Why?" There was a pause, then a look of alarm on Reid's face that they briefly saw before the camera moved and blurred. They saw the gun streak through the air and heard Reid yelp as it glanced off of the side of his head.

"OH!" Garcia cried, jumping. Reid stumbled back and the camera was fumbled before getting level on Reid again. He had his hand to his head and was leaning against the dresser. His finger came away from his face wet with blood. Reid looked up at the man, fear in his eyes as a drop of blood rolled down the side of his face.

"Don't ask questions, just do as you're told!" The man snapped, and Reid winced. "Get dressed." Hands shaking, Reid nodded and opened a drawer on his dresser, pulling out a dark blue t shirt and gray sweat pants. He pulled the pants on and jerked the shirt on over his head quickly before turning back to face the gunman. But he didn't look at him, he stared down and to the left, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Good. Now let's go." The man said, and gestured towards the door with the gun. Reid blinked and hesitated, then lowered his head and did as he was told, shuffling out into the living room.

"Keep going. Out back of the building." Reid paused again, then nodded and opened the door, stepping outside and heading for the stairs. He slowly made his way down the stairs, around the building and out into the alley. The wind blew, his shirt fluttering, but his wet hair was still plastered to his head. Reid stopped before a black Dodge Ram. The team noted that the license plate was covered.

"Get in the back." Came the order. Reid turned his head slightly, then crawled onto the open tailgate and slid into the bed of the pickup. "On your knees, face the front. Hands on your head." Reid obeyed, settling on his knees and slowly bringing his hands up, lacing his fingers behind his head. The team watched as the man put the gun down.

They could see Reid's reflection in the back window of the pick up, his face pale and frightened and his eyes darted around. Then, they settled and stared on the reflection of the man behind him. Reid blinked and watched the man pulling something out of his pocket. There was a crackling sound and Reid's eyes widened. The man darted forwards with a sparking taser, jabbing it into Reid's lower back. Reid bucked forwards with a surprised gasp, then crumpled to the truck bed.

"… Oh God…" Garcia whimpered, and Morgan squeezed her shoulder in comfort. The camera was fumbled around, and eventually rested on the top of the pickup cab. There was a metal chest in the bed of the truck right behind the cab. The man opened the chest. The camera gave them a view of the inside. It was padded and had padded leather restraints like those that were sometimes used in mental hospitals. He buckled them around Reid's wrists and ankles, then gagged him and tied a blindfold around his head.

The team watched as he gathered Reid up into his arms, the agent's head falling back limply. He moved and laid him down in the chest, adjusting him around trying to get the tall, lanky boy to fit. He snorted, then slammed the chest closed and peered up at the camera.

"Now the real fun begins." He chuckled. "I know your cases. I know what has scared you in the past…" He continued, his glittering eyes fixed on the camera. "That case in Kansas City, with all the lowlife scum going missing… that serial killer, Frank, who scared off Jason Gideon… That phobia obsessed Dr. Howard in Portland… Francis Goehring and Henry Frost, the torture-happy freaks in Montana. And that one guy… what was it that Jill wanted to call him, Agent Rossi? ETK? I would have just called him Sparky…" He snorted, and they could FEEL his smirk. "… Tobias Hankel." Hotchner inhaled sharply. "I know that the boy wasn't the only one tortured. I know it tortured you to watch him suffer, unable to help him…"

"Oh God…" Emily breathed, and JJ lifted a hand to her lips.

"I'm here to make you all relive those nightmares… You'll get the equipment you need soon. Oh, and like your… ADVENTURES with the Fisher King… this stays within the team. Remember what happened with him when you broke that rule…" And the recording ended.

"What's he talking about?" Rossi asked. Hotchner looked at him, then sighed.

"One of our past UnSubs, the Fisher King, had this delusion that we were knights of the round table and had to find the Holy Grail. The grail was his daughter. When we sought help outside of the team… he shot and nearly killed one of our team. Elle. And another UnSub, Tobias Hankel, had a split personality. Himself, the Arch Angel Raphael, and his father, Charles. He abducted Reid, and we had to watch him get tortured over a live computer feed."

"… Yikes." Rossi said, folding his arms and looking at the haunted look in the eyes of the team.

"… Charles tortured him physically, Raphael psychologically… and Tobias, trying to make it better for him, ended up forcing Reid into an addiction to Dilaudid."

"Dilaudid?"

"Yeah." Morgan said, sighing. "It was a rough time for our boy…"

Hotchner sighed, shifting. "I have a feeling that this time is going to be worse…"

"Sir?" They all turned and looked at a rookie agent. "Package."

"… Who is it addressed to?" Hotchner asked.

"… Um… The BAU Team." He said. The group all hurried out into the bull pen. The package sat on Morgan's desk. Hotchner frowned and ripped it open. He exhaled heavily.

"Disposable cell phone, untraceable." He said, picking the thing up and opening it, pushing a few buttons. "There's a number in it already. Garcia, run it."

"… A receiver…" Morgan said, pulling out the next thing. "And… a timer."

"Is it running?"

"Yeah. It says, time until broadcast. Has twenty minutes on it, and counting."

"… Twenty minutes until he started streaming a live feed to us. JJ, get this receiver set up. Morgan, get than timer to the lab, have it run for prints, same with the DVD, Reid's gun, his badge… The boxes they came in…"

"What about the phone and receiver?" Emily asked.

"… I think we're going to need them." Hotchner said, frowning.


	3. Chapter 3

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

"Sir. The receiver is set up. We'll be getting the live feed in Garcia's office and in the meeting room." JJ said.

"Good." Hotchner said, standing from his desk. He looked at Rossi as he walked in. "How much time?"

"… Thirty seven seconds and counting." Rossi said, checking his watch.

"Gather the team. We need to see this." Hotchner said, and took up a brisk pace to Garcia's office. "For now, I want it to stay within the team." He said. Once the team had gathered in Garcia's office, Hotch closed the door.

"… Eight." Rossi said. They all stared at the screens… "Five, four, three, two…" A moment later, the screens lit up. Each showed a different view.

"Whoa." Garcia said, staring around. "He… he knows my system. How does he know my system?!"

"Garcia." Rossi verbally jabbed.

"Right. Sorry. He routed the camera feeds to different screens." She said, tapping away at her keyboard. "… And they can change. They'll prominently display the camera he wants us to be watching." A moment later, the screens changed. They were staring at what looked like a basement. The camera was displaying a cot, and across the room behind it was a staircase going up.

"… Where's Reid…?" JJ breathed.

"Wait." Rossi said, and they heard over the speakers a door opening. A moment later, there were feet on the stairs. The UnSub descended into the basement, Reid in his arms. The boy seemed to still be unconscious, hanging limply. He was still gagged and blindfolded. The UnSub walked across the room and deposited Reid on the bed, positioning him on his side, facing the camera.

"I know you're watching." He said, suddenly. "With that phone, you can call him…" He laid a hand on Reid's shoulder, then moved to stroke his hair. "Talk to him… comfort him, even…"

Morgan growled. "Don't you fuckin' touch him you sick, twisted—"

"Quiet!" Hotch hissed.

"The difference between me and Hankel…" The man said, "Is that I will allow you to watch every moment… every little thing I do to him…" He continued stroking Reid's hair. "But… I think I'll give him some time to… settle in first." And the UnSub turned, walked across the room and up the stairs. They heard a door close, and several locks turning.

"What do we do?" Garcia asked, immediately.

"… Garcia, I want every frame of the original DVD analyzed, as well as the live feeds he sends us. Look for ANYTHING that could lead us to him."

"God only knows where he is…" Rossi said, frowning. "We don't know when Reid was abducted, where he was taken, how far away…"

"Okay, let's narrow it down." Hotch said, placing his hands on the back of Garcia's chair. "Garcia, what time did you drop him off last night?"

"… Um… nine thirty? Ish?"

"Okay… so sometime between –"

"Hotch." Morgan interrupted. "You turned off Reid's alarm clock. Beside his bed."

"… I'm on it." Garcia said. Her fingers flew across the keyboard and she pulled up the video of Reid's abduction. She fast forwarded through it, until they got to Reid walking into the bedroom.

"There." Morgan said, leaning out and pointing. They could see the glowing green numbers on the digital clock. "Enhance it, girl." Several more taps on the keyboard. "… One seventeen am…" Morgan said. "… And it changed to one eighteen."

"Go back." Hotch said. "Morgan, time it from when the clock changes to when the video ends."

Morgan nodded. "Roll it, hot stuff." Garcia nodded and hit play. Morgan timed it.

"… Six minutes, four seconds." He said. "It would only take thirty seconds tops for him to get in his car and get on the way."

"Garcia, pull up a map of the area around Reid's building."

"Yes sir." She said, nodding and typing. "Here. This is Reid's building."

"That's where his apartment is." Hotch said, pointing at one of the corners. "He went out of the door and turned right, then ended up around the building here in the alley. The truck was facing east. So the UnSub probably left heading that way."

"But when he got to the street, which way did he turn?" Rossi asked.

"Garcia. Pick up all cameras in the area around that time and look for a black Dodge Ram." Emily said, frowning in concern. Garcia nodded and began working. Hotchner sighed and walked over to a monitor at eye level and stared at Reid, face lined in worry. Morgan leaned over Garcia, watching her work, and JJ walked out of the room, shaking her head.

"JJ?" Rossi called.

"… I'm letting Strauss know what's happened." She said, looking back. "All cases are on hold until this is over."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"HOTCH!"

Hotchner looked up from his desk, then stood and walked out of his office.

"Reid's waking up." Morgan said, and the agents ran into Garcia's office. Reid had rolled onto his back and was fumbling at the blindfold. He managed to push if off of his head and pull the gag out of his mouth. He rolled onto his side again, lifting himself up on his elbows and looked around, blinking in confusion. He furrowed his brow, turning the other way and looking at the stairs. Slowly, he sat up and looked down at the cuffs around his ankles, looking almost insulted. He looked up at the stairs and ceiling again, appearing to be debating as to whether or not he should call out…

"Call him." Hotchner said. Garcia nodded and turned to her computer. The disposable cell was hooked up to a speaker phone to Garcia's computer so that she could try to track its call. A moment later, Reid jumped and looked around, eyes wide at a ringing. He blinked and looked directly to the left of the camera, frowning. His mouth opened ever so slightly and he rolled off of the cot so that he was kneeling to what seemed to be the table that the camera was sitting on. Reid eyed the camera, looking more and more nervous, then reached out with his bound hands. The ringing stopped.

"… Hello?" He asked, meekly, his voice coming out of the computer speakers.

"Reid." Hotch said, firmly.

"… Hotch?!"

"Reid, are you okay?"

"Where… what's going on?" Reid asked. Hotch closed his eyes and sighed.

"Reid… it's the case we're working on." Hotchner said, slowly. Reid blinked, furrowing his brow again. "The UnSub sent us a video." Reid frowned in confusion, but then his eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly again.

"… My apartment…" He said, weakly. Hotch sighed.

"He sent us the video of your abduction, Reid. After you were out, he… explained the game. He's our UnSub, Reid." Hotch said. Reid slowly leaned to the side, thumping down onto his backside instead of sitting on his knees. He leaned against the wall behind him, staring off into space. Then he blinked, and looked back at the camera.

"… Don't hide anything from me, Hotch." Reid said, trying to keep the dread out of his voice. "I want to know everything he told you."

"Reid, I don't think that—"

"The more I know, the better prepared I am to help you guys out."

"Help us out?" Rossi asked, surprised.

"I'm still part of the team." Reid said, shaking his head and fixing a determined look on the camera. "As long as we have this, and I'm still in touch with you guys, I can still do my job." The team all looked back and forth at one another.

"Reid, I admire your dedication, but—"

"Dammit, Hotch!" Reid almost shouted. He turned his eyes on the camera again. They were filled with fear. "Give me something to stay strong for!" Everyone was silent, staring in anguish at the wild look of desperation in Reid's eyes.

"Alright." Hotch said, softly. "Everyone listen. The UnSub targets one person at a time. He takes someone important to them to hurt. Not only does he torture his target by torturing the victim, but he tortures the victim using techniques the target saw in the cases that haunted them more than any other."

"So who is the target?" Morgan asked. "It has to be one of us."

"It's not one of us." Hotch said, shaking his head. "If I was the target, he would have gone after Jack or Haley… If it was Morgan, he would have gone after his mother, sisters… maybe Garcia." Garcia smiled weakly. "If it was Garcia, it probably would have been Kevin Lynch. Emily or Reid, their mother, JJ would have been Will… But the UnSub chose REID as his victim. His target isn't one of us…" Hotch almost laughed. "It's ALL of us. The team." The others were staring grimly at him.

"He listed off our… worst cases." He continued, and Reid continued to stare off into space, listening and absorbing every word. "The Kansas City case with the 63 missing people…" Reid gulped when he thought about the horrifying facility they had found… "Goehring and Frost from Montana…" Reid winced when he remember the videos they had found taken by Frost, of Goehring torturing women. "Frank…" Reid still had nightmares about the inside of that trailer. "The Dr. Howard in Portland who murdered by fear." Reid ran his hands through his hair, anxiously.

Hotch took a deep breath and looked at the screens. "And Tobias Hankel." Reid's eyes grew wide and haunted, and his face grew pale. He looked ill. Slowly, he bowed his head, sliding his fingers through his hair until he was holding his head. The team watched him sitting completely still, curled up in that defensive position for a long time.

"Reid?" JJ called, tentatively. "… Are… you okay?" Slowly, Reid looked up and looked at the camera. He gave them a weak smile, and shook his head slightly.

"No." He whispered, looking away again. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, before shaking his head and looking back up again. "… I'm scared…" He admitted, his voice shaking.

"We'll find you, kid." Morgan said, determination in his tone. "Help us out. Find us something to work with." Reid nodded, eyes darting around in the nervous fashion that was specifically his… A moment later, he covered his face with his hands.

"I… I'm not like the rest of you guys… I'm not… I'm not strong or tough… I don't have the will to… to fight this."

"Reid, that's not—"

"LOOK AT ME!" Reid shouted, cutting off Emily. He stared at the camera, eyes wide and frantic. Tears spilled down his face. "I'm weak. And you all know it." He let his face fall into his hands again.

"Reid…" JJ started, but Rossi cut her off.

"Listen!"

They all watched as Reid's head jerked up. He looked at the stairs, and moments later, the UnSub appeared. He walked down the stairs. Reid swallowed nervously, slowly sliding back into the corner.

"You're awake." The voice said, calmly. "… Are you hungry?" Reid didn't answer. He didn't move. "No? Very well then. Let's begin." And he walked over to Reid and knelt. Reid jerked away from him, but he was cornered with nowhere to go. The man reached down and freed the agent's ankles from the cuffs.

"On your feet." Was the command. Reid struggled to obey, getting to his feet. The UnSub grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the stairs and dragged Reid up behind him. Reid stumbled up the stairs, casting a despairing look over his shoulder at the camera…

The image on Garcia's computer changed. It was showing another room. It looked like a surgery suite in a third world country… There was a metal autopsy table, and spread out over the counters were instruments that would have been used by surgeons, coroners and butchers alike…

Reid let out a strange noise, like he was being strangled, and he recoiled from the room.

"Don't worry…" The UnSub chuckled, stroking Reid's hair. "You're not ready for this place… for Frank… Not yet." Reid slowly turned and stared at the man with a look of horror on his face. The man chuckled and jerked Reid out of the room and down a hallway. It was long. Very long. Made of concrete. As they went down the hall, cameras switched.

They showed the rooms that they were passing from inside… they could see the look on Reid's face as they passed each room, looking more and more horrified as they went.… An old rundown bedroom with a bed that folded up to the wall to reveal a rack of home made instruments of torture… The next revealed what looked like an old spring mattress with the covering ripped off, and the room was littered with objects that would deliver electric shock.

The next room was what seemed to be a bathroom with a shower and tub, and nothing else… Reid didn't recognize that as being from any of their cases… Then, another door was opened. Reid turned and paled.

"Oh my God…" Garcia breathed, weakly. "It… It's a recreation of the shack Hankel kept him in…" Rossi leaned over, frowning and inspecting it. The UnSub dragged Reid in and shoved him down into the chair sitting in the middle of the room, wrapping a leather strap around the link between the cuffs on his wrists, tying him to the chair. Reid was looking terrified.

"Please…" He gasped, voice cracking. The UnSub laughed.

"Breaking down already?" He taunted. "You're weaker than I thought."

Reid swallowed thickly, eyes darting around. This place was enough to make him feel physically ill. It brought on too many traumatic memories… The camera on the tripod, the four laptop computers… The wood burning stove in the corner. There was a loud hissing and a nauseating smell filled the small room. A smell that he knew far too well. He turned and watched the fish hearts and livers sizzling on the top of the stove. The UnSub turned and stare at Reid for a long time. The he took out a revolver, and a bullet. Reid's eyes widened and his gut congealed. The man held the bullet out.

"Tell me boy…" He growled, sick amusement in his voice. "Do you remember what this is?"

Reid stared at him and swallowed the lump in his throat, closing his eyes for a moment and wetting dry lips. "… God's Will." He gasped.

"That's right." The UnSub purred, sliding the bullet into the chamber and flicking his wrist, snapping the cylinder into place. Then he turned the gun on Reid. Reid stared, eyes wide.

"Oh God!" Garcia cried.

"He won't kill him." Hotchner gasped. "He won't finish this before he's even started."

The UnSub lowered the gun. He moved it across Reid's chest and shoulder, down his arm, across his midsection, and then down his leg. He stopped halfway down the thigh. There was a long pause, and he pulled the trigger. Reid winced at the deafening metallic lick.

"Is it worse than you thought?" The UnSub asked, making Reid shudder involuntarily.

"Goddammit…" Morgan growled, bracing his hands on the back of Garcia's chair. "That sick son of a bitch…"

"God spared you the pain." The UnSub said, calmly. "I won't." Slowly, he picked up a stick for the fire, about two inches thick. "Confess your sins." Reid blinked at him, then looked down at the stick in the man's hand. His eyes widened in realization and he jerked his head up, staring at the UnSub.

"No… please don't…" He begged, shaking his head. The UnSub grabbed his ankle and held up his foot, raising the stick.

"I said confess!"

"I haven't done anything!" Reid cried, trying to jerk his foot away. The UnSub snarled and brought the stick down. Garcia jerked and Emily looked away at the sound of the impact, and the pained yelp.

"Reliving it yet?" The UnSub asked, sounding amused. Reid shook his head, grimacing in pain.

"Please… stop…" He whimpered.

"Confess."

"But I haven't done anything!" Reid repeated, and yelped as he was struck again.

"Confess!"

"… I… I killed a man!" Reid cried, still trying to tug his foot away. "I killed him…"

"Who?"

"Tobias." The UnSub stopped and stared at Reid, slowly lowering the stick.

"He wasn't expecting that…" Rossi said, frowning.

"Of course not." Hotchner agreed. "Why would killing a man in self defense be a sin that needed to be confessed?"

"So then, why would Reid use it as a confession?" Emily asked, and Morgan sighed, straightening up and shaking his head, folding his arms.

"Because he feels guilty."

"It was self defense!" Emily protested.

"But he still feels guilty." Morgan argued.

"Enough!" Rossi ordered, and a moment later they heard Reid yelp again. They all looked back at the screens.

"Do not give me a false confession." The UnSub snapped. He was holding Reid's other foot now.

"I didn't… it's not false… I killed him." Reid gasped, head hanging.

"It was self defense."

"Tobias. He… he never hurt me…" Reid explained softly, trying to keep his voice level, but he was choked with tears. "He tried to help me… he tried to protect me from Charles and Raphael. And I killed him." The stick came down on the sole of his foot again, and Reid cried out in pain.

"It was self defense." The UnSub said again. Reid nodded finally, accepting that this man would not consider this confession legitimate. "Confess."

"I… I dishonored my mother." Reid mumbled, going with the confession that Charles had been given. The UnSub stared at him, then raised the stick and brought it in a glancing blow across the side of Reid's head. Garcia and JJ screamed, and Hotchner winced and turned away.

"You think I'll let you get off easy with repeat performances, boy?" The UnSub drawled. Reid groaned, trying to focus through the pounding in his head.

"… I'm sorry…" Reid whimpered, curling in on himself protectively. Slowly, the UnSub knelt before Reid and stared up at him until Reid locked eyes with him.

"You related to him…" The man murmured. Reid stared silently, unable to break eye contact. "You relied on him. When Charles was hitting you, you cried for Tobias to help you…" Reid began to tremble. The UnSub grabbed his wrist and jerked his arms out, staring at the inside of his right arm. Reid watched him with wide eyes. The man laid a finger on Reid's wrist over a vein, standing out through the white skin like a road map. Slowly, he traced it with a fingertip up to the inside of his elbow.

"I do NOT like where this is going…" Morgan said, slowly.

The UnSub continued. "You were hungry, he brought a lamb… You were thirsty, he brought you water… you were in pain…" He continued to stroke the thin skin inside of Reid's elbow. "He brought you… escape. Releif." Reid's breath caught in his throat. He didn't move. He couldn't move. He stared at his captor, not blinking, barely breathing…

"Snap out of it, kid…" Rossi breathed. "Don't let him get to you…"

"In the end…" The UnSub said, softly. "You returned the favor. He was suffering. Being tormented by his other personalities… You relieved his suffering. You allowed him to escape…"

"I killed him…" Reid whimpered in a high pitched tone.

"Do you deny the happiness you saw in his face?" The UnSub asked. "The relief?" Reid slowly shook his head, looking haunted… A moment later, tears breached his eyes and ran down his face. "You felt close to him." The UnSub concluded. Slowly, Reid nodded. "Then let me help." The UnSub said, standing. "Let me help you get closer to Tobias Hankel." He removed the strap tethering Reid's cuffs to the chair and jerked him down the hall and into the room with the tub. It was filled with water.

"What… what are you…?!" Reid stammered in alarm.

"Baptizing you. The way Charles did Tobias."

"Oh, no…" Morgan groaned. "No, no, no…"

"Oh God…" Garcia cried when the UnSub grabbed Reid by the shoulders, spun him around and shoved him back. Reid shouted in shock as he fell backwards into the water of the tub, gasping sharply at how cold it was. But the UnSub was still shoving. Reid went under. The team stared in tense silence as they watched and listened to Reid thrashing in the water, desperately trying to break free of the UnSub's grip… The UnSub jerked him out and Reid gasped, inhaling. The man paused, then shoved him back under. Reid's bound hands clawed at the UnSub's shirt, then face. The mask fell…

"Turn around, you bastard…" Emily hissed. "Show us your face…" The anxiety in the room grew as Reid's fighting grew more and more terrified, more and more desperate. And then, it began to rapidly weaken. Reid's hands reached into the air for help that was not there… He thrashed his legs once more, before falling still. The team collectively held their breaths. The UnSub jerked Reid out and tossed him onto the floor. Reid hit the concrete hard, jerking and coughing. He drew in one painful breath, then coughed up water, slowly dragging himself away from the UnSub, shaking violently.

The UnSub picked up his mask and replaced it, then removed the cuffs from Reid's wrists.

"I'll make you a deal, Dr. Reid." The UnSub said, suddenly. "I'll give you until sunset to find your way out of here. If you do, you're free. If not… well… I think you know." And he turned and walked out of the room.

"When is sunset?!" Hotchner demanded.

"That depends on where he is." Garcia said. "Sunset where we are is in… twenty seven minutes."

"So…" Hotch said, frowning. "IF the UnSub took Reid and drove straight west, from one thirty am last night until when he appeared on camera this afternoon… he MAY have gotten into a different time zone. So Reid has anywhere from twenty seven minutes to an hour and twenty seven minutes to get out of there."

"We all know he won't." JJ said, looking pained. "He'll fix it. Just like the psycho in Kansas City. He'll taunt Reid with the prospect of escape, just to snatch it away at the last minute…"

"I know." Hotch said. "But Garcia may be able to narrow down where Reid is by finding out what time the sun sets where he is."

"Is it stupid for me to hope that he actually does make it out?" Garcia asked, weakly. Morgan sighed and leaned down, kissing her cheek.

"It's not stupid, baby girl. But the chances ARE slim…"

"I know…" Garcia sighed, watching with the others as Reid finally lifted his head and turned, looking at the door. He struggled to his hands and knees, shivering violently and dripping wet. He reached up and placed a hand on the edge of the tub, slowly dragging himself to his feet.

"AH!" He yelped, pain flashing across his face as he got to his feet. His legs collapsed beneath him and he fell to his knees, gasping. He sat there for a few minutes, then slowly forced himself to his feet and headed to the door, whining in pain with every step. Rossi sighed and shook his head. He hated to see that kid in this state…

Reid stumbled into the hall and looked back and forth, trying to figure out which way to go. Finally, he settled on heading left, back towards the recreation of Hankel's little shack. He almost fell over the threshold into the room and looked around. He lurched forwards, and headed for the computers… He dropped to his knees before the desk and began tapping away at the keyboard.

"The UnSub wouldn't really be that stupid, would he?" JJ asked.

"No…" Hotch said. "He's not. He's torturing Reid. See?"

They looked back at the screens. Reid had jerked away from the computers when the UnSub appeared on the screen.

"… Try again, doctor." And the screens went dark. Reid stumbled to his feet and turned, making his way back out into the hallway. He moved down the hall, bracing himself against the wall, trying to keep as much weight off of his feet as possible. He staggered into what Frank would have considered his playground, and stared. There was another door. He hobbled over to it and threw it open, hurrying through. It was dark… so dark… The cameras that the team were watching from was on night vision.

"The wall looks strange." JJ said, frowning.

"Oh man, Reid, don't…" Morgan groaned. But Reid reached out to brace himself against the wall.

"OW!" He yelped and jerked away, stumbling into the other wall. "AAH!" He fell away from the opposite wall and fell to his knees, hugging his arm close. A moment later, lights flared on.

"Shit." Morgan breathed. Reid was in a long hallway. The walls had been coated in concrete, and peppered with shards of broken glass… blood ran down Reid's arm as he rocked back and forth on his knees, biting his lip. He looked up and stared at the hallway, sobbing helplessly. But after a moment, he struggled to his feet and limped down the hall, though he fell to his knees frequently. Finally, he reached the end and shoved through the door.

And he fell. With a startled shout, he fell eight feet and hit the concrete flood with a thud and a broken cry. Garcia was clinging tightly to Morgan, tears streaming down her face. JJ wasn't doing much better as they watched Reid writhe on the floor, grimacing at the pain the wracked his entire body. It took several minutes before he was able to stand. He staggered badly.

"He's hurt…" JJ gasped, looking devastated.

"He hit his head…" Hotchner said. "He probably has a concussion…"

"Then this needs to stop, now." Rossi said, frowning. "He could really hurt himself. He needs bed rest."

"this guy won't give it to him. He won't care if Reid has a head injury." Morgan said, shaking his head. They watched Reid move down another hallway. When he was halfway through it, the lights went out. Then, strobe lights began flashing. They heard Reid cry out. He fell against the wall, clutching his throbbing head in his hands.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Reid cried. "STOP!" He tried to keep going, but the flashing light threw him off balance. He closed his eyes tightly and stumbled don the hall, weaving back and forth like a drunk… He ran into the door, fumbled for the handle and fell through. He collapsed to his hands and knees on the other side, and threw up.

"I can't…" Garcia blurted, suddenly struggling to her feet. "I can't watch this guy do this to him." And she ran from the room in tears. A moment later, JJ followed.

"… I'm glad they left. Did you see the room?" Emily said, softly.

"… This guy knows a little too much about that Kansas City case. And now we have bodies…" Rossi said, frowning. The room was filled with severed human limbs, all hanging from the ceiling. Reid was now staring at them, a look of disbelief on his face. He shook his head in denial, before retching again. He forced himself to his feet and ran, head down, refusing to look at the remains around him, trying to ignore the stench of decay… He ran through the next door, unable to get through it fast enough. But he was careful. He ran through the door and slammed it, looking around before moving further into the next room, afraid of what he would find. The floor of this room was different. It was metal. On the other side of the room… was the door out.

Reid swallowed nervously… it was too easy… But he had to try. He limped forwards, and his foot came down on the metal. Emily jerked and looked away at the scream that ripped out of the speakers as Reid threw his head back, body going into convulsions brought on by what they could only assume was electric shock. He fell back off of the metal and onto the concrete, gasping harshly, muscles still twitching erratically.

Rossi shook his head in pity, and disbelief. Slowly, Reid got to his hands and knees and raised his head, looking out across the floor. He stared at it for a long time, but then, he seemed to deflate and a look of defeat washed over him. He sat back on his heels, and his head dropped. A moment later, and his shoulders started to shake. Then, across the room, the door closed… he was out of time. Reid watched the sunlight disappear when the door shut with a loud boom. He stared at it, his entire being radiating helpless defeat. Then he bowed his head, and cried.

At least until the door behind him opened and the UnSub stepped through. Slowly, Reid looked up at him.

"… You lose." The man said, and Spencer Reid found himself for the second time on the business end of a stunner. He grunted softly, jerking and falling into the UnSub's arms. The man lifted him up, turned, and carried him back into his haven, and Reid's hell…


	4. Chapter 4

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Emily walked into Garcia's office, followed by JJ and Garcia herself.

"What happened?"

"… He didn't make it." Hotchner said. "The UnSub is taking him back in." Garcia sighed and slowly sat and her desk, staring as the UnSub carried Reid into the frightening white room and laid him on the coroner's table.

"Oh my God… No no no no no…" Garcia moaned.

"It's okay, sweetheart…" Morgan said, comfortingly. "Look."

The UnSub was laying out a couple of bottles, and rolls of bandages. Slowly, he worked the FBI t shirt off of Reid, and he began to clean his injuries and bandage them up. When he was finished, he opened a cabinet and pulled out another shirt. It was another FBI t shirt, but this one was black, not navy blue like the one he had just taken off of Reid. He put the shirt on Reid, then gathered him up again.

He carried Reid down the stairs and laid him on the cot, once again positioning him on his side facing the camera and then covering him with a blanket. He stared down at Reid for a moment, then reached out and began to stroke his hair, which was still damp from the near drowning.

Hotchner noticed how hard Morgan was gripping the back of Garcia's chair. Morgan had taken to the kid straight away, as soon as Reid had joined he BAU. In fact, he seemed very much like a protective big brother. Hotchner knew that this was eating away at Morgan, seeing their youngest team member suffering and being unable to help him…

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill this son of a bitch…" Morgan hissed, shaking in anger. Hotchner laid a firm hand on Morgan's shoulder, trying to offer what comfort he could. A moment later, the UnSub turned and climbed the stairs, leaving the room.

Hotchner took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Meeting room. Now." He said, turning and walking out. The others blinked, then scrambled to follow. Hotch stood with his back to the room, staring at the large screen which was filled with the image of Reid in the bed.

"Okay. Let's start with victimology." Rossi said. "Why Reid."

"Why not?" Hotchner asked, turning. They looked at him. "He's the youngest member of the team. He's a poor shot with a gun. He's brilliant, yes, but physically, he's hardly imposing. He would be easy to physically over power and dominate if need be. He's young, naïve, easily intimidated with the right pressure exerted. And… we have all shown ourselves to be protective towards him. Some more than others. Anyone who knew the dynamics of this team would know that we, especially after the Hankel case, would be very emotionally involved with Reid being abducted and tortured. This UnSub knows how to hit us where it hurts."

"And in taking Reid…" JJ said, slowly. "He took one of out greatest assets away from us."

"Ummm… something has been… bothering me." Garcia said, suddenly. They all turned their attention towards her. She fidgeted. "I saw every moment of Reid's abuse that was shown on camera in the Hankel case. And I logged his report when he made it afterwards. This bastard… he… he knew things that Hankel did to Reid that… that he only could have known if he had read Reid's report. Same with the other cases. Our cases, and the cases of his other targets in the past. He knows things that he shouldn't. The things he knows… he only could have gotten from files here… from the inside."

Morgan looked at her. "This guy is in the Bureau…" He breathed in shocked horror. The others looked very disconcerted.

"For him to know the Hankel case like he does… he'd have to be. The only one who knows it better is Reid…" Garcia said, nodding.

Hotchner nodded. "Okay. Let's get a profile going. We're looking for a white male in his late twenties, early thirties. Someone who has contact with us. Someone who may have wanted to join the BAU but didn't make the cut. Look for anyone around the time when Reid was brought onto the team. Garcia, I want you to look at the video of Reid's abduction. We know how tall Reid is, check the video and find out how tall this guy is."

"Yes sir." Garcia said, turning and heading for the door. "… Section Cheif Strauss!" Everyone turned and looked at the woman standing in the doorway. She was staring with wide eyes and a grim look at the screen.

"It's true then." She said in a strained voice. "Agent Reid has been abducted." She looked at Hotchner. "I want you off of this case. I'm putting the entire bureau on this."

"No!" Morgan said, standing. "You can't."

"Excuse me?"

"You do, and he'll kill him. He said that if anyone other than the members of this team work this case, he'll kill one of us. Like the Fisher King."

"The one who shot Agent Greeneway?"

"Yes." Hotchner said, nodding.

"… This is the man who copies others' M.O's?" She asked.

"Yes." Hotchner said again.

"Well… I'll keep it quiet then." Strauss said.

"Erin…" Agent Rossi said. "We have reason to believe that the UnSub is in the Bureau."

"Excuse me?" She gasped.

"He knows too much about the cases." Garcia blurted. "Details that he only could have gotten from the FBI files."

"And he knows how this team works." JJ said, looking at the section chief. Erin Strauss frowned, looking uneasy. She looked at Garcia.

"… Is your system secure?"

"Yes ma'am." Garcia said, with a nod. "Believe me… I checked for any sign of hackers when I made this connection. I assure you, I have considered every possibility."

"There's also the fact…" JJ said, slowly, "That Dr. Reid was abducted as soon as we started working this case. The UnSub was waiting for this case to fall into our hands…" Emily's eyes widened.

"He said this case was the one that mattered… The one that would make or break him…" She sat up. "All those other victims… he was WAITING for this case to come to us… He committed those other crimes to MAKE a case that would be sent to us."

"We've been the targets the entire time." Hotchner concluded, slowly.

"Erin." Rossi said, pulling her aside. "We'll handle this. Please. I appreciate your wanting to help by putting the whole bureau on this case, but doing so will do more harm than good." She stared him in the eyes, then nodded.

"Alright. You have a good team with a lot of talent. But I want to know every step you take." And she looked back up at the screen, frowning.

"… I know what you're going to ask, Erin. And trust me when I say you don't want to see what he's been through, and what he will still go through before we find him…"

* * *

It was never actually discussed, but the team had an unspoken agreement that someone would be watching over their youngest team member every moment. All night long, Morgan sat in the meeting room, watching. Garcia was asleep on the sofa with Kevin Lynch. Hotchner was on a cot in his office, as was Rossi. Emily had gone to make some coffee.

Morgan frowned when Reid stirred. He walked to the doorway of the meeting room and shouted, "He's wakin' up!"

The others hurried in and watched as Reid slowly came to consciousness. He blinked brown eyes, then grimaced at the pain in his body. Slowly, he sat up, groaning in pain. He looked around, then looked off camera. Whimpering, he rolled off of the bed and slowly limped out of sight. They heard a door close. A moment later, they heard what sounded like a toilet flushing, and a door opening. Reid stumbled into view and collapsed onto the cot again, gasping through clenched teeth.

Morgan looked around, then reached out and hit the speed dial button on the disposable cell. Reid jumped at the ringing and looked at the camera. He looked pained for a moment, but then a look of grateful relief washed over his face and he threw himself off of the cot.

"I'm here…" He gasped.

The team sat in silence. No one knew what to say…

"… Hello?" Reid called, looking near tears at the idea that the team wasn't there to talk to him.

"Hey kid." Rossi said, finally. "How are you holding up?" Now Reid looked near tears in relief.

"… I'm alive, aren't I?" He offered weakly.

"Reid." Hotchner said, suddenly. "We think the UnSub is or was FBI."

Reid sighed, slowly sitting down before the camera, smiling slightly.

"I thought so." He said, softly. Hotch blinked. "He knows too much about my abduction… The uh… the first one, I mean... He would have to have read my report to know some of these things."

Rossi grinned. "When did you figure that out?"

"… As soon as he started burning the fish guts." Reid said with a smile.

"That's my boy." Morgan chuckled. Reid's smile broadened into a grin. "… He really messed you up." Reid's smile faded, and he looked down at his bandaged arm.

"Yeah… He uh… he did…" He sighed and began to unwind the bandages. The team watched silently… Reid was slowly relaxing. Even though no one was speaking, he seemed to be taking comfort in the fact that some way, no matter how distant, he was still with the team. The bandages came off, and Reid inspected his lacerated arm. He looked down.

"He left me a first aid kit…" Reid mumbled.

"Is there anything that could help us find you that you've noticed?" Hotchner asked as Reid cleaned up his injuries and began to rebandage his arm.

"… The phone he has here… It's like the equipment that we use." Reid offered. "Do you have a profile yet?"

"White male, late twenties, early thirties. Garcia puts him at about six foot three, after comparing him to your height in one of the videos." Reid nodded in acknowledgement. "We have reached the conclusion that he committed all those other crimes to get the BAU to work the case. He was waiting for his case to come to us… and then he made us the case by taking you."

"So he has a grudge against the team?" Reid asked.

"Possible." Hotch said. "We're looking into anyone who was looking to join the team but was turned down. Especially around the time you joined the team." Reid nodded.

"Try when Elle and Emily joined, too." Reid suggested.

"We will." Rossi assured him. "But we're considering that he may have picked you to take if he had been passed up in favor of you." Reid nodded, thinking. "Did you know any of the other candidates to join the team? Anyone who you were chosen over?"

"I… I never met any of the others…" Reid said, shaking his head and tucking his hair behind his ear. "… Hey… what time is it?"

"… almost six am." Hotchner said. Reid nodded, and his stomach growled. His eyes widened and he turned red. Morgan chuckled.

"Time for your morning Cheerios, pretty boy?"

"… No… Frosted Flakes." Reid said with a smile. Morgan grinned.

"More sugar…" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Yeah…" Reid sighed, looking down. He raised his head after a moment and looked around. "… Doesn't look like the basement of a house." He said. "There may have been a boiler in the corner, but it's been removed. There used to be a wall there, but it's been demolished. With the bathroom in the corner, this may have been used as the office of the caretaker of the property or something.

"When… when I was in that last room, I could see out the door. This facility is an underground bunker or something. I'm pretty sure it's under a hill. And it's in a forest. The trees were pretty big… I think it's under a hill on a hill, because the ground sloped down and dropped off about twenty yards from the door. I could see the horizon, but not the setting sun. It was off to the left behind the trees."

"Good." Hotch said. "That gives us something. A bunker partially up a hill in the woods, with an entrance facing approximately west. Anything else?"

"… No… I don't think so."

"Well… stay vigilant." Hotchner said. "Stay strong." Reid nodded, wincing and prodding the bump on his head where the UnSub had hit him the previous night.

"Wish I had some pain meds…" He grumbled. "Hotch…?"

"Yes?"

"… How… how much did you see last night?"

"Everything. He has cameras in every room. We can see and hear everything."

"Every room?!"

"Not the bathroom, sweetie." Garcia said, grinning. Reid looked slightly better at that.

"You know…" JJ said, frowning. "Have you noticed the angles of the cameras? He's taken great pains to set them up to get the best shot. And they follow the action and change views frequently. It's like watching a TV show…" "

"But he's not doing it. Because he's tormenting Reid." Garcia pointed out.

"… He has a partner…" Emily gasped. "Someone into cinematography…"

"Garcia, look into anyone in the Bureau who has anything to do with someone in any kind of filming industry." Hotchner said.

"Good call, ladies." Rossi said with an impressed smile.

"If you boys ever bothered to join us for our movie nights you might have noticed too." Garcia teased. "Hey Reid."

"Yeah?"

"From now on, you're coming."

"… Sure thing, Garcia." Reid said, smiling.

"And shall it be "Girls' Night Out With Reid" from now on, too?" JJ asked, grinning.

"Totally." Emily snorted. "Take him to the clubs… shopping…"

"Uh… let's not get carried away." Reid stammered, eyes wide.

"Come on girls." Morgan laughed. "You know our boy doesn't like to party."

"He needs to get out more." JJ snorted, leaning back in her chair and sipping her coffee. "He's like a fat pampered house cat. Only not fat and furry."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" The girls burst out laughing.

"He's a skinny little kitten, if anything." Emily laughed. "He purrs when you pet him, bats at your nose, and gives the cute act whenever he gets into trouble."

"I what?!" Reid blurted, and Morgan burst out laughing. "No one is PETTING me!" Reid insisted. "And I do not bat at people's noses."

"I equate that to you spouting off your statistics and acting superior." Emily teased.

"I do NOT act superior." Reid grumbled.

"Now he's pouting." JJ sang.

"Okay, so if I'm a kitten, what's Morgan?"

"Rottweiler, man." Morgan said, grinning.

"… Nah. You're a little terrier." Garcia teased. "A little yappy Yorkie."

"That is so not cool." Morgan said, glaring at Garcia, who grinned and winked back. "Man, shut up, Reid!" He snapped, glaring at the screen where Reid was seen laughing. The team spent the next two hours just talking. Sometimes it was running ideas past each other on the case, and sometimes it was small talk, goofing off and teasing each other. Hotchner allowed it. It seemed to be helping Reid's psychological state. He was calm and optimistic.

But the talking died when Reid froze, eyes wide, and went pale.

"Reid?" Rossi called. Reid slowly turned and looked towards the stairs. The door opened, and feet appeared on the stairs, walking down with slow, deliberate steps.

"We're here, kid." Morgan murmured softly, and Reid nodded slightly to let him know that he had heard him, but that it was too soft for the UnSub. "We're all here with you. And we'll be here when you get back. Stay strong."

"Reid…" Hotchner hissed, urgently. "Keep your head down and your mouth shut. Let him dominate, do NOT provoke him." Reid nodded slightly again. The UnSub reached the bottom of the stairs and turned, staring at Reid.

"… Good morning." He said. Reid gulped and stared at him. "Get up." Reid struggled to obey, whimpering at the pain wracking his body. "Let's go." The UnSub said, and Reid limped across the room. The UnSub stepped into his path and stared him down. "What shall we do today?" He asked, almost casually. Reid's eyes darted around nervously, looking anywhere but at the man…

"… You may choose." The UnSub said, suddenly. Reid blinked and looked up at that, confused. "But then… you don't like making choices." Reid shook his head slightly, trying to understand what this guy was getting at. The UnSub grabbed Reid by the elbow and dragged him up the stairs, Reid yelping in surprise before following, grimacing in pain. He was dragged down the hall, and back into what Reid now thought of as the Hankel Room…

He was shackled to the chair again, and was already feeling ill with fear… The UnSub turned and opened the lap top computers. Four images were there… web cams… Reid stared at them… He did not like where this was going.

"Choose one." The UnSub said.

"I… I'm sorry?" Reid asked, weakly.

"Choose one to die."

"Oh God…" Garcia breathed. "Not again…"

"Not again?" Rossi asked.

"Hankel showed Reid four people." Hotchner explained. "He told him to choose one to die. If he refused, then they would all die."

"What did he do?" Rossi asked, looking shocked.

"Reid ultimately chose who would LIVE." Garcia said. "Eliminated one of the victims as a target. And then Hankel chose who would die."

"He left the camera running. Reid watched the murder." Hotchner said.

"I said choose." The UnSub growled.

"… I… I can't… please…" Reid begged, looking terrified.

"You know what will happen if you do not." The UnSub said. "They all die."

Reid shook his head. "No… please… I can't… I can't condemn someone to death… I… please…"

"Then you condemn them ALL." The UnSub growled, advancing on Reid. "Choose."

"No!" Reid insisted. His eyes widened briefly before the UnSub backhanded him across the face. "AH!"

"CHOOSE!"

"… nnh… n-no… AH!"

"You're only going to make it worse on yourself."

"FINE!!!" Reid shouted, making the UnSub hesitate, not expecting that. "I don't care! I won't send someone to the slaughter like that!"

"As you wish." The UnSub said, then pulled out a cell phone and dialed. He held it to his ear. "Kill them all." Reid's eyes widened.

"NO!"

"Then CHOOSE!!!" The UnSub shouted, turning and facing Reid. Reid shook his head, and tears fells down his face.

"… Please…"

"You have five seconds, or they all die."

"… please."

"Three… two…"

"… okay. Right… the middle right screen." Reid breathed, and sagged in defeat. The UnSub turned and spoke into the phone.

"Location Three." He said, and hung up. "There now…" He stroked Reid's hair. "That wasn't so hard…"

Reid just sobbed, jerking away from the man. The UnSub snarled, and struck him across the face again.

"You can sit here and watch…" He snapped, then turned and stormed from the room. Reid just sat and cried.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dammit!" Morgan exploded, slamming his fist down on the table. "We have to find him! Come on, baby girl. Let's go." And he and Garcia went to her office.

"Morgan… I've run everything. I don't have a decent list of suspects OR locations…" She sighed. "I'm sorry, but… I need more."

"I just thought of something." JJ said, walking into the room behind them. "We have the guy, the dominant personality. We have the one working the cameras… but the UnSub made a phone call… to a third person."

Morgan stared. "You're right… how many of these guys are there?!" He cried, and stormed out of the room and into Hotchner's office, where he was talking with Rossi. "There are THREE." He said.

"What?" Hotch asked, blinking.

"The guy on the cameras, the guy OPERATING the cameras… and the guy that our UnSub just sent to murder whoever Reid just chose." Morgan said. "This just keeps getting better and better…"


	5. Chapter 5

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

Reid stared, watching the computer screen. The door of the house opened, and a masked man stepped in. He looked at the computer camera, then walked out of sight. Reid sighed, waiting. Several minutes later, the man walked back into the room, talking on his cell phone. He was making angry gestures. After a moment, he turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Seconds later, the door to the room Reid was in slammed open. Reid jumped, startled.

"You!" The UnSub spat, storming over and grabbing Reid by the front of his shirt.

"Guys! Get in here!" Emily shouted, and everyone came running.

"You knew they were gone!" The UnSub raged. Reid stared at him with wide eyes. "You chose them because you saw them LEAVE!!!" Reid blinked, then narrowed his eyes.

"Of course I did!"

The UnSub snarled, then shoved Reid back into the chair, and backhanded him across the face. "I will not tolerate this defiance!" Reid yelped, but turned to glare at the man.

"You think I care?!" He cried. "You're going to hurt me anyway! I won't play along and help you hurt others!!!"

The UnSub glared at Reid for a long time, before removing the cuffs from his wrists and dragging him down the hall. He flung Reid into the middle room, sending him crashing to the floor. He didn't hesitate to kick him harshly in the stomach. Reid let out a strangled yelp and doubled over, clutching his stomach and groaning. The UnSub hauled him to his feet anyway and slammed him up against the bare spring mattress frame, using handcuffs in the corners to shackle him there. He picked up a knife and cut the t shirt off of Reid, then turned and looked over his tools… cattle prods, law enforcement tazers, jumper cables…

"Oh no…" Garcia whined. "No no no no… I won't watch this." And she fled her office again.

Morgan looked after her and sighed, but turned back at Reid's yelp. The UnSub was starting with low voltage shocks… over the next hour, they got stronger and stronger. Two and a half hours after the shock torture had started, Reid was hanging limply, whimpering in pain, and his body was covered in electrical burn marks.

The UnSub picked up the law enforcement tazer and turned, raising it and firing. The two prongs shot out and lodged in Reid… the FBI Agent convulsed and screamed, writhing and straining against the hand cuffs. The UnSub released the trigger for a moment, let Reid draw a few gasping breaths before pulling it, sending electrical currents running through him again. Reid hung from the cuffs, his legs unable to support him any longer. The UnSub lowered the tazer and walked over, reaching out and grabbing Reid's hair, jerking his head up.

"Are you sorry for being defiant?" The man hissed. Reid slowly blinked his eyes, trying to focus on the man. "I said, are you sorry for being defiant!?" Reid's eyes slid closed. The UnSub snarled and unlocked the cuffs, catching Reid as he fell forwards into his arms. He lifted Reid and stormed out of the room and into the bathroom.

The team watched as he walked over to the bath tub, once again full of water. He stood and stared down at Reid, hanging limp in his arms, then dropped him. Reid yelped as he splashed into the freezing water, and thrashed, eyes wide in panic. But the UnSub seized his shoulders and forced him under. Reid struggled desperately…

Emily watched, rubbing her stomach and looking queasy. Garcia was crying into Morgan's shoulder, and JJ cried silently alone, a hand over her mouth. Hotchner and Rossi stood side by side, both pale with dark circles under their eyes. The team had hardly slept since this had started…

The UnSub stopped holding Reid under… the boy struggled to sit up, gasping for breath. The UnSub shook him violently.

"Are you sorry?!" He demanded. Reid shook his head.

"N-No… Get off…" He cried, and yelped as he was shoved under the water again. This time, when the UnSub let him breathe, Reid lunged and brought his fist crashing across the UnSub's face. The mask fell to the floor as the UnSub stumbled back and Reid threw himself out of the tub, falling to the floor and dragging himself away. The UnSub growled, turning and pouncing Reid.

"GET OFF!!" Reid cried, fighting back.

"No, Reid…" Morgan groaned. "Don't make it worse…" The Agent and the UnSub struggled with one another on the floor, Reid trying to get away, the UnSub trying to get him back under his control. But the UnSub was bigger, stronger and vicious. In moments, he was straddling Reid's hips and brought his fist across the boy's jaw.

The team watched in anguish as their youngest member fell victim to a brutal beating.

"Oh my God!" Gasped a woman's voice in the doorway, and Hotch turned.

"Haley!" He gasped and hurried over, putting and arm around her and steering her into his office. He guided her in and closed the door. "Haley?" He asked, concerned, wondering what she was doing there.

"Was… Was that Dr. Reid?" She asked, weakly. Hotchner sighed and nodded. "Oh my God… Aaron… Oh my God…" And she slowly sat down on the sofa.

"Haley… what are you doing here?"

"You… you were supposed to be off today. You were supposed to pick up Jack this morning. You weren't answering your cell. No one was." Haley said, and Hotchner closed his eyes and turned away.

"Dammit…" He breathed, now furious with himself. "Haley, I am SO sorry—"

"Aaron, don't." She said, holding up a hand. Hotch gave her a pained look. "That video you were watching… Was that… happening right… now?"

"… It's a live feed." Hotchner said, grimly, picking his cell up from his desk and sighing at the eight missed calls from his ex wife. Haley stood.

"... Don't worry about it, Aaron." She said. "If it were any other case, I might be mad… But as much as Jack needs his father in his life," Hotchner winced, "I think that Dr. Reid needs you more right now."

"Haley…"

"Can you save him?" She asked. Hotch sighed. Haley had always been fond of the socially awkward boy genius.

"We're doing everything within our power to do so." Hotch said, staring out the window. Haley nodded, then jumped when Hotch suddenly slammed his fist into the wall. "DAMMMIT!"

"Aaron…"

"This is my fault." Hotch said, turning an agonized look on her. "I'm his superior. He's MY responsibility."

"Aaron. You know more than anyone that you can't protect everyone from everything." She said, gently.

"He's going to kill him. If he does, I…" Hotch breathed, brokenly. Haley took the few steps needed to cover the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around him.

"You'll never forgive yourself." Haley finished for him. Hotch closed his eyes, returned her embrace, and wept. Haley let him. They stood there for a long time, holding each other. Finally, when Hotch got himself under control again, she stepped back and looked at him. "Do your job." She said, firmly. "Get him home safe. We'll reschedule a weekend with Jack when this is over. Don't worry about it." Hotchner stared at her. "You're needed here." Haley said with an affirming nod. Hotch sighed, then nodded back.

"Thank you."

"Get back to your team, Aaron." Haley told him. "… Let me know how it… turns out…" Hotch nodded, and leaned over slightly to accept the kiss on his cheek. The woman turned and let herself out of his office. Halfway across the bull pen, Hotch called after her.

"Haley?" She turned and looked at him. "Thanks." She nodded to him, then walked out of the BAU. Hotchner sighed and looked after her, then slowly returned to the meeting room.

"Did we ever see his face?" He demanded immediately.

"No." Garcia grumbled. "As soon as that mask came off he kept his head down."

"We got one lead." Morgan said. "He has blonde hair."

"Reid has definitely seen his face, though." Emily said, looking at Hotch. Hotch nodded, watching Reid being held under the water again, a pained expression on his face. The water was clouded with blood…

As soon as Reid stopped thrashing, the UnSub jerked him out and dragged him out of the room. Reid tried to stumble after him, but he was unable to get his legs under himself… eventually he gave up an just let himself be dragged. The UnSub opened the door to his basement prison, and flung him through.

Garcia jumped and covered her mouth with her hands when Reid sailed through the door and crashed down the stairs, slamming into the wall at the bottom. The UnSub slammed the door and left him where he lay, a dripping beaten mess.

Garcia leapt on the phone, hitting speed dial. Reid twitched when it rang across the room from him. Shaking, he lifted his head and stared at it. He winced, and began to slowly drag himself across the room. By the time he made it, tears were rolling down Garcia's face. Reid hit the answer button, dragging himself up to sit leaning against the wall.

"Reid!" Garcia cried. "Oh God, Reid…" The team huddled around the phone, but Reid didn't respond. He was struggling to stay conscious. Blood ran down his chin from a split lip and bloody nose, and another dribbled down his cheek from a cut under his blackening eye. His body was littered in burn marks and forming bruises, with several cuts… Goosebumps were pattering his pale skin as he began to shiver. He winced and clenched his teeth when they began to chatter.

"Reid, talk to us…" Morgan said, firmly. Reid grimaced, shaking his head slightly, then sat up and looked around. There was a pile of junk in the corner, including an old empty paint can. He threw himself towards it, and off camera, the team heard him gag and throw up. They waited. A few minutes later, Reid appeared back in the frame. He pushed the old cot closer to the phone and camera, then stripped off his wet pants and wrapped himself up in the blanket, lying down. He couldn't stop shaking, and coughed, violently.

"… He's getting sick…" JJ murmured, frowning in worry.

"It's probably just water in his lungs…" Emily suggested, weakly.

"That could turn pneumonia…" Rossi pointed out, crossing his arms.

"… You weren't kidding…" Said a familiar voice. "When you said you needed help." Everyone turned.

"Gideon!" JJ cried, jumping to her feet. Hotchner turned and walked over.

"Jason… Thanks for coming." He said. Gideon ignored everyone, staring at Reid on the screen.

"… What happened to him…?" He asked, sounding calm, but his undertone was murderous.

"If you really want to know, there are videos." Rossi said, slowly.

"Garcia." Gideon said, frowning. "Pull them up."

"Don't… don't you want to talk to him, sir?" She asked, suddenly.

"Talk to him?" Gideon asked. Garcia nodded and hit the button on the speaker phone.

"Reid?" She called, and Reid twitched, blinking his eyes open. "Reid, there's someone here to talk to you."

"… I'm tired…" Reid sighed, weakly. Gideon blinked, surprised.

"The UnSub lets you talk to him?" He murmured to Hotch, who nodded. Gideon sighed and slowly sat down. "Hey Spencer. How're you doing?" Reid's eyes opened wide, and he struggled to sit up.

"Gideon?!" He gasped, falling off the cot and dragging himself over to the speaker, relieved surprise in his face. Gideon inspected every inch of skin that he could see, eyes lingering over every mark that showed as a testament to the abuse that his protégé had suffered. Reid pulled the blanket close, shivering and wiping his nose and mouth across the back of his arm, glancing down at the blood. Gideon looked tortured…

"That's right." He assured Reid. "I'm here to help." Reid finally cracked a smile, and a moment later a ragged sob escaped his chest. He bowed his head, hastily rubbing away the tears that were flowing.

"You don't know how good it is to hear you…" Reid gasped, curling up and leaning against the wall, giving up on trying to stem the flow of tears.

"… Spencer…"

"… I wanna go home…" Was the whimpered plea.

"Just hang tough, kid." Morgan said. "We'll get you home." Reid just stared despairingly at the camera, tears rolling down his face.

"Come on, Spencer." Gideon said, softly. "You trust us. Right?" Reid nodded.

"Yes…"

"Then have faith." Gideon said. "Now get some rest. We're on it. Garcia."

"Yessir." Garcia said, nodding, and led the way to her office.

* * *

The team looked up when Gideon walked into the meeting room. He looked near devastated, but determined. "How is he?" He asked, looking at Reid.

"He's sleeping…" JJ said, softly. Gideon nodded.

"I've looked over all the videos." He said. "All your notes and theories."

"And?" Rossi asked.

"I think you're right. There are at least three of them, and at least one is, or was until recently, FBI. And this team is the target. Reid was chosen as the victim because physically, he is the least imposing. He's a pacifist. Prefers to use words rather than force. He's easy to overpower. But he's smart with words. That's why the UnSub didn't let him talk when he abducted him. The UnSub knows Reid well enough to know that he can distract with words… talk someone down.

"But there's something else." Gideon said, leaning back. "The cases he mentioned… They're all earlier cases. The mot recent one was the one with the electric shock guy, and Jill." He nodded to Agent Rossi.

"That… WAS a while ago…" Morgan said, frowning.

"Garcia." Hotch said. "Check records. See if any agents were fired, quit… anything, between that case and when the first killing popped up."

"Yessir." She said, and started to turn, but stopped. "Guys?" She gasped, pointing at the screen. They turned and looked. Reid's eyes were wide open, and he looked petrified in fear. Behind him, boots were coming down the stairs. Reid's eyes darted around, then closed again, and he feigned sleep.

"Guys… That's… not the UnSub." Emily said, slowly. "He's smaller."

"You're right…" JJ gasped. The man was holding a tray in one hand, and a bundle under his arm. He walked over to the cot and stared down at Reid for a moment, then turned to the table that the camera and phone were one. He set the tray down on the table. Sitting on it was a steaming bowl of soup, a bottle of water and a couple of crackers. Then, the man turned and laid clean clothes down beside the tray; a new pair of sweat pants, and a fresh t shirt. He stared at Reid again for a moment, then left the basement.

"… Food… water… fresh clothes… the way he stopped to stare at Reid…" Emily said, slowly. "Remorse?"

"He's not the UnSub. He's either the camera man, or the murderer." JJ said.

"He's not the murderer." Rossi said. "He's too small. His movements are hesitant. Skittish. This is either the camera man, or a fourth UnSub." They watched as Reid slowly opened his eyes and turned, looking back at the stairs. Once he saw that the man was gone, he looked at the soup and clothes. He slid off of the cot, clutching the blanket around himself, and snatched the clothes. He tugged them on quickly then eyed the soup. He scooted closer and snatched the bowl, settling down on the floor, leaning against the wall with a wince, and started to eat. He gasped and almost sloshed soup down his front when the phone rang. He quickly reached out and hit the answer button.

"Morning." He called. "Or evening… I don't know…"

"Hey, Spencer." Gideon called. "Good soup?"

"You know… I haven't eaten in at least two days." Reid mumbled around a couple of crackers. Gideon smiled, slightly.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, and Reid sighed, pausing.

"… I'm still alive, aren't I?" He asked back, looking up at the camera. The strain was evident. He was pale, gaunt and scared. He winced, and turned his head, coughing violently. Gideon frowned.

"Reid. You were stupid." Hotchner said, suddenly. "You antagonized him. I told you to keep your head down and your mouth shut."

"… I know." Reid said, softly. "I'm sorry. I just… snapped."

"You're in a difficult situation." Gideon said, soothingly. "Maintaining control of yourself while enduring torture is… exceedingly strenuous at best. You're doing fine. But you NEED to concentrate." Reid finished the soup, setting the bowl on the table and gulping down the water, a drop running down his chin. He winced and doubled over, putting the bottle down and coughing, trying not to spit out any of the precious liquid. He swallowed then coughed loudly, grimacing in pain.

"Reid… you need to be careful." Hotch said. "If you die, I'll have to fire you." Everyone blinked and looked at him.

"Hotch?" Reid called, blinking. "Did… did you just make a joke?"

"Reid, hush." Morgan said, grinning. "Just appreciate the moment." Reid blinked, then grinned and nodded.

"Right." He mumbled, and Hotch smirked slightly.

"Reid. This time, keep your mouth shut." He ordered, and Reid nodded.

"Yessir."

"Reid, honey…" Garcia sighed. "PLEASE listen to Hotch. We want you home safe."

"Believe me. I want to GET home safe. But… if I don't…"

"You will." Hotch said firmly.

"If I don't," Reid pressed, "There's a letter in the top drawer of my desk, under the organizer."

"Reid…" Garcia breathed, trying to get him to stop.

"Make sure it gets to my mom." Reid finished.

"Reid." Gideon said, leaning forwards. "Believe me. We have NO intention of giving that letter to your mother any time soon. The next letter she gets will be another one telling her about your 'adventures'." Reid smiled slightly.

"Thanks. If you guys don't mind, I'm still really tired."

"Get all the rest you need, kid." Morgan said, nodding. "You need to keep up your strength." Reid snorted.

"WHAT strength?" He grumbled.

"Hey. Don't talk back. Or I'll have my girl put you over her knee."

"Ooh. That's dirty." Garcia purred, grinning. "And after the spanking, I'm going to play doctor with the good doctor." Everyone stared at her, and Reid stared at the phone, eyes wide, mouth ajar, and face red. Morgan burst out laughing.

"That's… disturbing on several levels." Reid finally stammered.

"Get some sleep, kid." Morgan chuckled, shaking his head. Reid nodded, smiling and crawling onto the cot, pulling the blankets up over himself.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"Almost nine at night." Morgan said, and Reid nodded.

"… Three days."

"Yeah." Morgan sighed. "Three days. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. These cases take time. I know." Reid said with a smile, curling his arm under his head to rest on so that he could see the phone and camera. "I wish… I wish that I could see you guys too…"

"You don't have to." Gideon said. "We are as we always are. Your mind will never be able to forget."

"… JJ is in the chair right in front of the screen." Reid said, smiling slightly. "Rossi is to her left. Then Emily. Then Gideon." Reid began to list. "Hotch is standing at the table between Gideon and Garcia. Then Morgan." Reid sighed. "My chair is empty."

Gideon smiled, watching Reid affectionately. "… Right. As always." The others were smiling too.

"We miss you, Spence." JJ said.

"I miss you, too." Reid yawned, eyes getting heavy. "Guys?"

"Yes?" Rossi answered.

"You get some sleep, too." Reid said, and everyone blinked. "You can't help me if you're all ready to pass out. And I can hear how tired you are. All of you. Promise me you'll get some sleep?"

Gideon smiled, shaking his head. "Of course, Spencer. I'll take this watch."

"Jason…" Hotch began, but Gideon cut him off.

"I'll call you if anything happens. But Reid needs to sleep, and so do you. All of you. Yes, Garcia, you too. Go. All of you." Slowly, with much grumbling, the team filed out. Hotch and Rossi went to their offices to crash on the couches they had… Garcia had a cot in her office brought in as soon as Reid went missing, so she headed that way. Morgan ended up on an inflatable mattress on the floor beside her. Emily joined JJ in her office with another pair of cots. Gideon settled down and sighed, watching Reid.

The young agent was staring off into space, his eyes glazed and half closed. He was exhausted, but he was scared. He wanted to go home. His eyes slowly closed, and he grimaced. His body was filled with a dull, throbbing pain. His eyes fell open again and he exhaled slowly.

"… Gideon?"

"Yes?"

"… Just making sure…" Reid murmured, eyes glazing over again.

"I'll be here, Spencer. I promise. Someone will be here every second. Even when you're asleep." Gideon reassured him.

"Thanks…" Reid sighed, his eyes falling closed again.

"Sleep, Spencer." Gideon called, gently. This time, Reid didn't answer. His soft breathing evened out, but a faint rattling could be heard every time he exhaled. Gideon frowned, worried. Reid was getting sick. And combined with the torture he was suffering, this did not bode well for him… the team would have to find him and get him out. Fast.


	6. Chapter 6

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

The entire team was having breakfast in the meeting room when the UnSub came for Reid. Reid had been talking with them, but he had stopped mid sentence. The smile faded into grim determination. He stared at the camera, listening to the boots on the stairs. When the reached the bottom, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then stood and turned.

"… You look like hell." The UnSub said. Reid said nothing. "You gonna walk your skinny ass over here, or do I have to drag you again?" Reid paused, but then silently limped over to the UnSub. The man stepped aside and waved his had towards the stairs in a flourish. Reid stared at him, then proceeded him up the stairs.

"… I think I'm done." Garcia said, shoving her jelly donut and breakfast burrito away.

"… Me too." JJ mumbled, polishing off her orange juice.

"We're going to try something different today." The UnSub said, slowly. Reid stopped in the hallway and looked at the man, hiding his fear well. "I know all about you, Dr. Reid."

"Not everything." Reid said with a slight smirk.

"Everything that matters." The UnSub said. "Including what you fear." Reid blinked, cocking his head slightly. The UnSub turned and walked over to a door running his hand over it. Slowly, he turned and extended a hand out to Reid. Reid stared at him, then slowly approached. The UnSub curled his arm around Reid's back, drawing him close, almost lovingly. He pushed the door open. Reid stared.

Darkness. Nothing but darkness. He couldn't see the floor. Not the walls, the ceiling. It was just… black. Reid frowned slightly, hesitantly turning and looking at the UnSub. He swallowed, fixing his brown eyes on the man, full of apprehension.

"You are afraid of the dark, Dr. Reid." The UnSub hissed. "You are afraid of what may lurk there, unseen. Your fear, though, is unfounded. You of all people should know that the dark is nothing to fear. So let me give you meaning to your fear. Let me give you a REAL reason to fear the dark…" Reid's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He tried to find his voice, but he couldn't. The UnSub chuckled darkly, then shoved Reid through the door.

"NO!" Reid shouted in half panic, falling into the blackness. "AHN!!" He yelped, when he hit the floor. He looked up immediately. Ten feet up, the door swung closed. The team watched with night vision cameras as Reid cried in horror. He stumbled to his feet, his movements awkward and almost self endangering. He threw himself forwards until he reached the wall and felt over it, desperately searching for some hold he could use to climb out.

"Please…" He whimpered, hands scrabbling over the wall. "God… please…" He suddenly whirled, pressing his back up against the wall and staring around into the nothingness, eyes wide and panicked. His chest rose and fell rapidly as his fear set in. He winced and coughed loudly, pressing his hand over his mouth. Sweat popped up across his brow and he tilted his head back, closing his eyes and opening his mouth to suck more air into his lungs. He whimpered every now and then, eyes still darting around frantically.

After a bit, Reid slowly began to side step along the wall, feeling carefully with his hand on the wall, and his bare feet on the ground. He hit a corner. After taking a few calming breaths, Reid began to fumble along the next wall, trying to keep his breath even, but he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Tell me, Dr. Reid…" The UnSub's taunting voice boomed through the room. Reid jumped. "It is worse than you thought?"

Reid stared up into nothingness, a hurt expression on his face. "… You… you sadistic son of a bitch…" He gasped.

"I teased him about it!" Garcia cried. "I teased him about being afraid of the dark!"

"This has nothing to do with that, baby girl. It's okay…"

"Poor Reid…" Garcia wailed, blowing her nose. Morgan put an arm around her. There was a throat clearing. Everyone turned.

"Kevin." Morgan said, removing his arm from Garcia. "Perfect timing, man." He walked over and pulled Kevin aside. "She's a wreck." He told him, quietly, distracting Kevin from the fact that he had walked in to see Morgan with his arm around Garcia. "She used to tease Reid for being afraid of the dark, now she's watching our UnSub torture Reid with that fear. She needs you, man." Kevin stared at him, mouth hanging open, then nodded and hurried to Garcia.

"Smooth." Emily muttered to Morgan, who grinned and winked, but they quickly turned their attention back to Reid.

He had jumped at a small noise… a shuffling… something was in the room with him. "No…" Reid gasped. "No no no… Guys…" The team glanced around at each other. "If you're watching… if you can hear me… God, I wish you were here right now…" Tears rolled down his face. JJ and Garcia weren't much better. Even Emily was looking near tears. Hotch and Rossi looked pained. Morgan was furious with his helplessness.

When Reid reached the next corner, he sobbed and slowly slid down to the floor, hugging his legs to his chest. "God… Please…" He lowered his head, hiding his face and rocking himself.

"Garcia. Any luck locating a place they could be holding him?" Gideon asked.

"Over 150 locations within the area I was given." Garcia said, sighing. "God, I hate this…"

"I know." Gideon said. "We don't like to feel helpless. We are the FBI. We're not SUPPOSED to be helpless. This isn't supposed to HAPPEN to one of our own…"

"Damn STRAIGHT it ain't!" Morgan snapped, angrily. He began to pace, watching Reid on the screen. The psychological torture was breaking down his mind…

There were noises all around him… something moving and creeping around… and he didn't know what… But the team could see them… rats. Rats were scurrying around the room…

Every now and then Reid would move to a different spot in the room, never leaving the wall. The hours ticked by… His stomach growled. He screamed for someone to come and save him from the darkness… His eyes ached from straining for the slightest bit of light in the room… his head pounded with his own fear and screams…

Eventually, he slowly slid to the floor, coughing. He was shaking, head turning back and forth, trying to catch any sight, every sound… He crawled on his hands and knees, unable to focus. He was too scared. And time went on… how long had he been there…? Hours? Days? It felt like years… He felt that he was losing his mind. If he got out of here, would he soon be institutionalized like his mother? He would definitely be in worse shape… probably a flailing, drooling mess… he snorted at the thought.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Then, the screaming of gears, and a horrible scraping. Reid blinked, then gasped. The wall was moving. "No…" He gasped. "No no no! NO!!!" He shook his head, scrambling out of the way. "PLEASE!!! OW!" He yelped when he scrabbled over something sharp. "OW! AH!" There was broken glass scattered over the floor in the middle of the room.

Reid tried to get out of it… he was confused. He didn't know where he was. His heart was in his throat, pounding. The wall reached him, and he yelped as he was pushed across the floor, through the glass. He stumbled forwards, away from the wall, but his skull cracked against the opposite wall… He only had six feet left, and it was shrinking. Reid pressed himself against the non moving wall, gasping loudly. "No… No… dammit, STOP!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. The wall ground to a halt only two and a half feet away…

"This guy is sick…" Morgan growled. "How did he know that Reid was afraid of the dark?" He looked at Garcia. "I thought you had our personnel files encrypted and hidden and password protected with all the bells and whistles and…"

"I do." Garcia confirmed, nodding. "Ever since the Fisher King case."

"Here's an idea I'm just… throwing out there." Emily said. "If he worked in the Bureau, he could have been in this office." She waved her head towards the bull pen. "He could have had access to our case files and reports… and he would have interacted with us. Talked to us and listened to us talk to each other. I remember once, a storm knocked the power out and Morgan was teasing Reid about being afraid of the dark. Remember?"

"Yeah." Morgan said, eyes wide. "I uh… I snuck up on him in the dark an' scared him! He FREAKED. Right in front of everyone. And remember him yelling at me?"

"I remember." Hotch said, nodded. "He punched you in the shoulder, called you a jerk and said 'you know I don't like the dark'."

"Right." Morgan said, nodding.

Suddenly, lights flared up. Spotlights from the ceiling. Reid shouted out, curling up on the floor, ducking his head and shutting his eyes tightly… he was blind… The pain stabbed through his skull. Violent coughs racked his thin frame.

"My my…" The UnSub sneered. "That doesn't sound very good… You should take better care of yourself, Dr. Reid." Reid's mind swam and was clouded… the fear… the pain… the lights. He didn't know which way was up and which way was down… was he lying on the floor? Was he falling? He groaned… the world was spinning. He felt like was floating… Then, there were hands… gentle hands on his body… Arms gathered him up, and he was cradled close to a body… a scent… an aftershave… sweat… Then, they were moving. Feet on stairs… his body was rocking with the movement… He tried to open his eyes, but he was still blinded… He closed them quickly when pain licked across his brain like white flames…

They were moving down a hall… A door opened, and a moment later the arms dropped him into frigid water. He yelped and thrashed. This time, the hands didn't hold him under… they began tugging at his clothes, stripping them off of his body. Reid shouted in protest, throwing an arm out to strike at the man.

"Oh, this bastard had better not touch him…" Morgan growled, shaking his head.

"This isn't the UnSub." Emily murmured. "He's bigger." The others agreed silently, watching the man pick up a washcloth and quirt some shower gel over it. The man then turned to Reid, who was fidgeting nervously, unable to sit still.

"Shhh…" Came the hiss, and then there was a cloth rubbing over his skin… Reid could smell soap. He gasped, shivering violently in the cold water, and he clutched at the man's clothes. "Shhhh…" The man hissed again, and Reid winced and whined when the soap stung his cuts. Reid held his breath when the man bathed his more… intimate areas, but he never tried anything… An arm was wrapped around Reid's shoulders, and a hand was placed on his chest, holding him there. He was lowered back into the water. Reid gasped and jerked, and the man stopped. Reid was confused… why wasn't he trying to drown him again?

After Reid relaxed, the man began to lower him down again, until all but his face was submerged. The hand on his chest moved and fingers ran through Reid's hair. Then Reid was moved to sit up again. A moment later there was a cheap, fruity scent, and something dripping over his scalp. A moment later, firm hands began to massage the shampoo into his hair. The touches were gentle, almost paternal. Somehow, Reid knew that this was NOT the UnSub. He seemed bigger… stronger… but more gentle. Almost loving or remorseful.

He spent a long time gently washing Reid's hair. Then there was the arm around his shoulders and he was leaned back into the water again. Reid went without a struggle, shaking at the hand in his hair. But the hand was so soft… he couldn't help but relax. Soon enough, though, it stopped, and Reid sat up again.

The arms returned, one around his shoulders, and the other under his knees. Reid groaned, then coughed. The man turned and walked out of the room, Reid hanging limp in his arms. Slowly, the boy turned and nuzzled his head into the man's shoulder… he was so cold. And the man was so warm. Another cough wracked his frame…

The man laid him down… the table was hard and cold. Metal. Reid shuddered… he knew where he was. He was on the Mortician's table. He heard the fluttering of cloth, and he felt it settle over his hips. He tried to open his eyes, but the light was like needles… He quickly shut them again, before convulsing with violent coughs.

There was a gentle hand on his forehead, gently brushing away strands of wet hair. "He's sick." The man spoke. His voice was thick and husky. "He's beautiful…"

"You may not have him." Said the UnSub, walking into the frame. The team watched as he smacked the hand of the larger man, which had moved to run up Reid's thigh. "Not yet." The bigger man looked up at the UnSub, before resting his hand on Reid's knee.

"But soon?"

"Yes. Soon." The UnSub confirmed with a nod, and the larger man began to rub Reid dry with a towel.

"Oh my God…" Emily gasped, eyes wide. "Please tell me that he doesn't mean what I think he means…"

"He does." Rossi said, a dreaded finality in his tone.

"Gentlemen… Ladies." Gideon suddenly spoke up. "We have an accurate profile to work off of now." He stood and walked over to the screen, watching. The UnSub and the larger man were cleaning Reid's cuts and other healing wounds.

"The UnSub is in his early thirties." Gideon began. "He was in the Bureau, but isn't any longer. He would have quit, or been fired at least a year ago. He is out to get this team. He may feel that we betrayed him somehow. He may have been passed up to JOIN the team. He chose Reid because he can physically dominate him, but it may be that he was passed up in favor of Reid when he joined the BAU.

"He has two partners. One is physically larger. I think we can assume that this is the man the UnSub sent to murder the people he forced Reid to choose. This man is in his late thirties. Judging by his desire for Reid, he probably has a record. Sexual Assault, rape… probably young men or teenage boys.

"The last man is smaller. He's nervous. But he's good with the cameras. This man was possibly a student, maybe dropped out of school. He has a smart mind, but he is following the lead of the UnSub. It's a production to him… the UnSub is the director, Reid is the star. He is the crew. He's smart, but he follows the lead of the dominant personality. The UnSub. The larger man is probably following the UnSub's lead because he isn't as smart.

"The UnSub is the intelligent, educated dominant personality, and the others are following his lead. But for crimes like these, they are not random recruits. They know and trust each other. They have known one another for a long time. They have a bond. They either have been friends for years, or have known each other all their lives. They may even be brothers.

"They likely came from a single parent household. My gut tells me that they were raised by a male. A father or uncle. And that they were abused. Possibly even sexually. Their caretaker will probably have a record just like the oldest. Sexual assaults, statutory rape… again, possibly with young men or teenage boys. And he may have come up in investigations about missing men and boys. Their caretaker probably murdered. And they know it. And they are prepared to go all the way with Reid because of it.

"We have to find him, and fast. Or there will be nothing left to save..." Gideon concluded. The team stared at him, grimly.

"… I'm on it." Garcia said, hurrying out. Gideon sighed and turned back to the screen, watching as the two men put band-aids over Reid's cuts before dressing him again.

"Something else." Gideon said, suddenly. "they dress him the same. In sweat pants and a t shirt. An FBI t shirt. The UnSub told Reid to dress for bed when he abducted him. Why would he have CARED how he dressed? And how did they know that Reid sleeps in sweatpants and a t shirt? And why an FBI t shirt?" Gideon asked.

"We had a talk about that once." Morgan said, eyes wide. "I don't remember how we got there, but… Prentiss was saying that she slept in a night shirt. Reid in sweat pants and t shirts. JJ in little nighties when Will is there… I sleep naked." The others eyed him. "I remember Emily teasing Reid. Asking him why Mr. Sweater Vest had t shirts. Reid said it was just FBI freebie t shirts."

"This guy was listening in on our casual conversations." Emily concluded, eyes wide. Gideon nodded.

"But look at Reid. Think of how he looks in his… slacks and tie… Now look at him. What do you see, that the UnSub may see?" The team stared at Reid, being lifted into the larger man's arms and carried down to the basement.

"He looks… younger." Emily said, slowly. "Vulnerable and innocent. He looks like a child."

"Seeing him like this makes the UnSub feel more powerful. The choice of clothes make Reid look more like a kid. Not an FBI Agent. It makes the UnSub feel his dominance over Reid even more." Rossi offered.

"So now what?" Morgan asked.

"We wait." Hotchner said, watching the man lay Reid down on the cot and covered his legs with the blanket. The man knelt, gently stroking Reid's cheek, smoothing his hair away from his forehead. Morgan narrowed his eyes, watching. The man traced his fingers over Reid's lips, then traced his jaw and tucked hair behind his ear. His fingers trailed down Reid's throat and across his collar bone. His fingers disappeared under the collar of the t shirt, rubbing over his chest… He paused, then moved his hand down, slipping it under Reid's shirt and running his hand over his stomach, gently rubbing in circles.

Reid twitched, rolling his head to the side with a moan, lips parting slightly.

"Oh no…" Morgan hissed, cracking his knuckles. "You had better get you hands off our boy right now you sick freak…"

"Morgan." Hotchner said, and reached out, hitting the speed dial on the phone. It began to ring. The man jumped, jerking his hand away from Reid. He stumbled back, staring at the phone, then turned and ran up the stairs and out of the room.

"You'd BETTER run, you son of a bitch!" Morgan shouted at the screen. "When I get my hands on you—"

"Morgan." Hotch said again. "Calm down."

"Calm down?! How can I calm down when I know what he's gonna put that kid through!?"

"Morgan. Just focus." Hotch said, gripping Morgan's shoulder. "We'll find him." The group settled down again with a map, labeling every possible place Reid could be held. They wanted to start eliminating sites, but they couldn't…

"Guys…" Emily gasped. "He's back." They all looked up. The UnSub and the larger man walked down the stairs. The UnSub was carrying a tray.

"You're a freak." He grumbled to the larger man.

"He's beautiful."

"Sure. If you like pale, scrawny, obnoxious know-it-alls…" The UnSub snorted.

"You said I could have him. If you want me to continue with this, you'll let me."

"I'm a man of my word." The UnSub said. "But that doesn't mean I understand what you get out of this… as far as I'm concerned, it's just another form of torture."

"They're so beautiful when they cry." The larger man snorted.

"… I'll agree with that. And this brat deserves it." The UnSub snorted. He watched the larger man curl an arm under Reid's shoulder and lift him up into a sitting position. The man moved behind Reid, sitting on the cot, and let Reid's back rest against his chest.

The UnSub let out a disgusted sigh and set the tray down on the table by the cot, near the phone and camera. "Whatever. Just remember what we discussed. When you have him, it will be under my terms." And he left the basement. Morgan shook his head, furious in his helplessness.

The man looked after the UnSub, then snorted, and to the team's surprise, removed his mask. He had blonde hair and blue gray eyes… they didn't recognize him, but something seemed vaguely familiar…

The man turned his head, his nose just behind Reid's ear. He closed his eyes and inhaled, taking in the boy's scent. Morgan turned, running his hands over his head in frustration. The man curled an arm around Reid's mid section and slid a hand under his shirt again. Reid's breath caught for a moment and he rolled his head to the side, facing the camera. His brow furrowed and he moaned softly. The man's other hand slithered over his shoulder and up his throat to his face. Fingers touched lips again… He turned the pale face and leaned closer. Reid twitched… the man sighed and kissed the corner of his mouth. Reid pulled away, eyelids fluttering.

"Nnnmm..." Reid groaned, trying to force his eyes open.

"Shhh… You have a fever…" The man hissed, reaching out to the tray and picking up a small cup of a purple liquid. "Here… take this. It's medicine." Reid blinked, making a face at the smell of the stuff when it was held under his nose. The man held the small cup to his lips and tipped it into Reid's mouth. He set the cup down again and stroked Reid's sweaty face.

"I'll take care of you, Spencer. I… may I call you Spencer?" The man asked. Reid blinked slowly.

"… Who… who are you?" Reid asked, weakly.

"… I'm not allowed to tell you my name."

"… Why?" Reid breathed. The man didn't respond. He continued the motions of his hands, stroking Reid's face and rubbing his stomach. A few minutes later, he picked up a bowl of soup. "Can you eat?" Reid nodded his response. The man lifted a full spoon to Reid's mouth, tipping the contents over his tongue. Reid swallowed, slowly.

"He's playing at good cop/bad cop." Hotchner said. "One captor who torments, one who nurtures… He's trying to get Reid to trust him. But it won't last long. Once Reid is coherent enough to realize how this bastard is touching him…"

"But in his position, he'll need to reach out to any hand offered." Rossi pointed out. "He may be willing to accept this man's attentions to escape the pain." Morgan collapsed into a chair, his head in his hands. But a moment later, he stormed out of the room. Hotch blinked, and hurried after him.

"Morgan!" He called. "Morgan, wait! Where are you going?!"

"Out!" Morgan shouted over his shoulder.

"Morgan, wait." Hotchner said, firmly. Morgan turned and looked at him. "Morgan. I need you here. I need your head in this. We won't find Reid without you."

"Hotch, we ain't doin' nothin' here, man!" Morgan cried, throwing his hands out. He pointed towards the meeting room. "That's our boy out there! He's being tortured, manipulated and molested, and we aren't getting any closer to finding him, OR the guys to have him!"

"That's not true." Garcia said from across the office. She offered them a hopeful smile. "I think I found the guy." Hotchner and Morgan stared at her.

"Meeting room! Now!" Hotch commanded, and the team assembled.

"Okay." Garcia said, passing out printouts.

"Ryan Alexander Vanderwal. He joined the FBI with his eyes on the BAU. He applied at about the same time as Reid. But he was one of their last choices. But according to HIM, Reid was his only competition. When another spot opened up he applied for it again. He was passed up for Elle. And later, Prentiss.

"When Gideon left, he applied one last time. But Rossi took the opening. The thing is, he refused to acknowledge that he was NEVER going to be able to join the BAU. He failed his psych eval. That's why he was NEVER promoted as long as he was in the Bureau. When his superiors told him that, he quit. There have been several people who remember him talking about Reid and the BAU… he was pissed that after years of hard work, he had been passed up for a 'snot nosed kid whose only advantage is being an insufferable know-it-all'." Garcia quoted.

Hotch looked over the file, frowning. "Good work, Garcia."

"There's more." Garcia said. "He has two brothers. An older brother, and a younger brother. Just… a whole family of freaks. His younger brother is Oliver Neil. He witnessed their mother's death in a car accident. It was a rainy. They hit a deer. The um… the antlers went through the windshield and… gored the mother to death."

"… Ew…" Emily said, looking at the photos of the scene.

"The youngest was always quiet and withdrawn after that. His older brothers took care of him. Their father was a drunk. And a pedophile. He was arrested on charges after the boys were all out of his care. Now, the oldest is Roger Graham, named after their father, Roger David. The oldest joined the army, but was later discharged… he failed a psych eval, and… showed inappropriate behavior. Towards another male soldier. He filed a complaint to a commanding officer. AFTER he and his boys beat Graham up. So Graham moved in with his brothers. They live in a three bedroom apartment. Ryan has the master bedroom even though he is the middle brother.

"Now the youngest, Neil… He failed out of school. Guess what he was studying?"

"Film." Hotch said, crossing his arms.

"Yahtzi." Garcia said, nodding. "I have their entire lives here. Everything. Except the one thing we NEED." She sighed. "Where they're holding Reid. I looked into my records, and Ryan did see all of these case files. He studied them extensively. He knows what hurts Reid more than anything… I'm afraid that we haven't seen the worst of it."


	7. Chapter 7

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Ryan Vanderwal stood staring at the cameras, focusing on Reid crawling towards the phone, which was ringing. He stood behind his little brother, Neil, his elder brother Graham beside him.

"He's had almost twenty four hours alone. His illness?"

"Getting progressively worse." Graham said. "The soup and medicine are helping some, but…" He shrugged.

"Our time is limited, then." Ryan snorted. He looked at his brother. "You want him, he's yours. Now. Just make sure you follow the guidelines I've laid out. BOTH of you. I'm gonna get some sleep."

"Sure thing." Graham said with a grin, turning and walking away. "Set up the room, Neil!" Neil looked after his brothers and nodded, turning to the facility's control panel… he had designed it himself according to Ryan's instruction. It was brilliant. It was a facility designed for one purpose… destroying Spencer Reid and the BAU.

* * *

"Oh, Spence… you're so pale…" JJ said, softly. Reid smiled slightly.

"I'm sick." He said, shrugging.

"We know." Rossi said. "You've spent almost twenty four hours sleeping."

"You're running out of time." Reid said. The others were silent. "I've been here for five days. He kills the victims after about a week." Hotch sighed. "I… I don't want you to blame yourselves." Reid said. "Don't mourn, don't grieve."

"Reid!" Garcia gasped. "You… you're family!"

"There will be time for that later. Just get the guy. These are my last requests, if it comes to it." Reid said. "Get the letter to my mom, and take this guy down."

"Reid. Our priority right now is getting YOU home safe." Hotchner said, trying to keep his voice steady. "We know who has you." Reid's head jerked up, eyes wide. "Former Agent Ryan Vanderwal."

"… Ryan Vanderwal…?" Reid murmured, eyes darting back and forth. "He… He worked with us… I really only ever noticed… him filing our cases." Reid said, eyes wide. "He quit over a year ago."

"Right. When Rossi joined the team." Hotchner said. "He tried to join the first time when YOU were brought onto the team. He tried several times. But he failed his psych eval every time. In his mind, YOU were his only competition, and you beat him. He didn't think it was fair. He worked his ass off and the position was given to you because you're you. When he failed to get in four times due to a psych eval, he quit."

Reid nodded, and listened when Hotch continued. "He has two brothers, Graham and Neil. Neil flunked out of school where he was studying film. Graham was discharged from the military for lewd conduct, and a failed psych eval."

"Wow… a family of nut jobs." Reid said with a laugh. "And I'm here for the fun…"

"Their father was a convicted rapist, pedophile and murderer. He died in prison not three months after he had gone in." JJ said.

"Ryan is the dominant personality." Reid said, slowly. "Neil is the one working the cameras, and Graham has been… taking care of me."

"Hardly." Morgan snapped.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked. "He fed me… bathed me… got me medicine…"

"He also molested you when you were too delirious to know it." Morgan spat. Reid's eyes widened, then closed for a moment.

"I… excuse me?" Reid gasped, shaking his head slightly.

"He felt you up, Reid." Morgan said, leaning back. "His hand up your shirt… your face, your hair. He even kissed you. Just to the right of your mouth." Reid's hand flew up to his face and touched it briefly.

"Are you sure?" He asked, sounding freaked out, then frowned. "He… He said I was beautiful…"

"Several times." Rossi admitted. "Watch yourself. It sounds like the UnSub kept him from going after you in a full out sexual assault… but their conversations suggest that he will… and soon."

"Are you sure we should be telling him this?" Emily hissed, covering the phone.

"He needs to know what he's up against." Rossi answered.

"Won't knowing just… add to his torture?" Emily asked.

"He needs to be prepared." Hotchner said.

"Guys?" Reid called. "Are… are you sure about this?"

"Almost definitely, Reid." Hotch said.

Reid looked around nervously and hugged himself, turning his head and coughing.

"Reid… Do… do you think you can handle it?" Morgan asked, gently. Reid shook his head.

"I… I don't know…" Reid stammered, voice shaking. He jumped and whirled. The door opened, and boots slowly came down the stairs.

"That's Graham, Reid." Hotchner murmured. Slowly, Reid stood.

"Graham Vanderwal." He said, and the man stopped, looking surprised.

"… You know me?"

"Your brother and I competed for this job. I got it. He didn't. So… he's trying to get revenge. On me and my team." Reid said.

"So you know who we are, do you Dr. Reid? Dr. Reid… I don't like it… I think I'll just stick to calling you Spencer." Graham said, walking across the room. "You look like you're feeling better." Reid eyed him, recoiling when the man lifted a hand and pressed it to his face. "Your fever has gone down. But it won't stay down. It will go back up. When it does, you'll die from it."

"… Not if your brother kills me first." Reid said, shaking his head.

"It's a shame…" Graham said, cupping Reid's cheek in his hand and stroking his skin with his thumb. "Someone like you shouldn't die…"

"Why?" Reid asked. "Because I'm beautiful?" Graham blinked, then smiled.

"Yes." He moved closer to Reid, backing him into the wall. Reid stared up at him, eyes wide.

"… Don't."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Morgan shouted over the phone, and both Reid and Graham jumped and stared at the thing.

"I think we need some privacy, Spencer…" Graham growled, glaring at the phone.

"I think I would rather stay here…" Reid mumbled, swallowing thickly.

"Oh no…" Graham growled, gripping Reid's upper arms and slamming him into the wall. He pressed himself up against Reid, leaning over and nuzzling Reid's ear. "Privacy is exactly what we need…" And he turned, jerking Reid across the basement and up the stairs, Reid struggling to break his grip.

"No… Don't!" He cried, eyes wide in panic. "Please! Guys! GUYS! Help me!" He looked back at the camera, frantically. "Rossi? Gideon? HOTCH! Morgan! MORGAN! HELP ME!"

"REID!" Morgan shouted, lunging at the phone with the rest of the team.

"NO! Stop!" Emily shouted.

"SPENCE!" JJ cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Leave him alone!" Garcia sobbed, clutching tightly to Morgan.

"Goddammit!" Hotchner shouted, pacing anxiously around the office. Rossi and Gideon watched the scene, grimly.

"REID!" Morgan shouted once more, but the door slammed. They all grew quiet, watching as the man dragged Reid out of the basement and down the hall. He took him to the first room… the Goerney and Frost room… the recreation of the place they tortured several women in. Graham threw Reid to the floor and closed the door, locking it. Reid scrambled away backwards, eyes wide in terror.

"Please don't…" He begged, shaking his head. "Please…" Graham ignored him, walking over to the bed and folding it up, staring at the rack of instruments. "You don't have to do this…" Reid gasped. "You can stop this… you can HELP me… I… I can see that you care for me… you can… help me…?"

"I care very much for you." Graham said. "But I can't help it. I have to have you." He turned and walked over to Reid, grabbing his elbow and jerking him to his feet. He handcuffed Reid's wrists and jerked them up over his head, hanging the chain on a hook suspended from the ceiling. Reid winced as his muscles and healing wounds cried in protest. Graham stared Reid in the eyes, slowly running his hands down the agent's arms, then his sides until he was gripping his hips. Reid trembled, silently pleading with his eyes.

"Please don't…" He breathed. Graham just smiled.

"Beautiful…" He said, leaning forwards and kissing Reid.

"STOP!" Reid shouted, jerking away. "Don't… don't touch me." Graham stared at Reid, then anger sparked in his eyes. He snarled, and buried his fist into Reid's stomach. Reid yelped, trying to double over, but he couldn't. He whimpered, gritting his teeth. There were hands around his waist… slowly they moved down, and Reid sobbed when he felt them taking his pants with them.

"Please…" He begged, shaking his head. "Please… don't…"

"Shhhh… Just relax. You might enjoy it." Graham purred in his ears as he stood again. Reid gasped and jerked when a knife flashed. He watched as it sliced through his t shirt, the scraps fluttering to the floor.

The team squirmed in their seats. They didn't want to watch this. They really didn't. But they had to stick with Reid… they HAD to. They took a slight comfort in the fact that the camera was only showing Reid from his waist up. He was shaking his head, sobbing in fear. "Please…" A hand moved up his abdomen and over his chest, lightly rubbing circles over the skin.

"By the time I'm done with you…" Graham hissed. "You'll be begging for more…" Tears fell down Reid's face. His eyes darted around and finally rested on the camera.

"Help me. Please." He begged, staring through the camera and at his team, breaking their hearts… "Hotch… Morgan… please…"

"Shut up!" Graham snapped, slapping Reid across the face. "And let's play…" He turned and looked over the tools. "I think that the men in that one case of yours liked this…" He picked up a set of double prongs. Two prongs in one direction, two in another. He fit them under Reid's chin, two prongs pressing under his jaw, the others right over his collar bones. This kept his head erect and facing forwards. He kept his eyes on the camera, his only bit of comfort knowing that his team was with him… at least in spirit. They were sharing in his pain, no matter how remotely.

Graham circled him slowly, looking him up and down, eyes gleaming. He unbuckled his belt, and removed it. Reid stared with wide eyes.

"Your skin is so pale… I think it needs some color…" He moved behind Reid and drew his arm back.

"Oh no! No!" Garcia cried. She turned away from the screen, but she couldn't ignore the sounds… the whistling of the belt sailing through the air and the sharp crack as it lashed across Reid's back, immediately followed by a shriek of pain. Reid arched his back, trying to move away. Graham lashed him again, grinning in some sick delight, watched every move that Reid made, relishing in every pained cry. He was panting within a dozen lashes, but it wasn't in exertion… Within two dozen lashes across Reid's back and front, Reid's knees had buckled and he hung from the handcuffs. The metal had cut into his wrists and blood ran down his arms… It also ran down his neck and chest from where the spikes had cut into his chin and chest.

"Stop… please…" He pleaded, body trembling in pain.

"Alright…" Graham purred, moving close to Reid again. He stroked his cheek before removing the spikes from his neck and chest, and wrapping his belt around Reid's neck. "What does my brother ask? Is it worse than you thought?"

"Please…" Reid whispered. "Please… you don't have to do this…"

"Yeah. You always say that. Ryan said so." Graham snorted. "This is when you try to talk me out of it? It won't work…" He ran a hand down Reid's side to rest on his hip. "I want you too much…" Reid shook his head, gasping. He flinched away from the hand stroking his cheek. Graham snorted and turned, looking over what else he had to work with. He blinked. He didn't even know what half of the stuff was… but he was aroused. He was getting to the point where he didn't care what his brother wanted… he turned and looked back at Reid. He wanted him…

"Don't touch me…" Reid gasped. Graham narrowed his eyes and grabbed Reid's hips in both hands. Reid writhed. "Don't TOUCH me!" He shouted, thrashing and kicking. Graham glared, then slammed his fist into Reid's jaw. Reid yelped and fell to the floor, the hook in the ceiling ripped out.

Reid struggled to his feet, but Graham seized a handful of his hair. He grabbed the bed and folded it down, then threw Reid onto it. Reid fought, desperately, and was backhanded down again. But Reid didn't give up. He threw himself off of the bed. Graham snarled and lunged after him, grabbing the loose end of the belt. He jerked it back and Reid gagged, moving back with it, but Graham planted his foot down between Reid's shoulder blades and pinned him to the floor. He pulled on the belt and Reid's gasp was cut off. He thrashed, clawing at the belt and struggling to breathe. But Graham didn't let up. Reid quickly went limp. Graham let go of the belt and pulled it off of Reid's neck, picking him up as he struggled to get oxygen back into his body.

"These guys are gonna kill him…" Morgan cried, pacing erratically around the room. "Goddammit, why can't we FIND these bastards!" He turned back to the screen and watched as Reid was bound, bent over an old desk. The cameras had switched (Morgan had a few colorful thoughts about the youngest brother playing with camera angles) and now the screen was dominated by a view of Reid from the shoulders up… His eyes were wide and frantic.

"Don't… please!" He cried, struggling with his restraints.

"Please…" Morgan pleaded with men who couldn't hear him, eyes on Reid. "Please don't hurt him… please…"

"Morgan…" Rossi said, gripping Morgan's shoulder. "He's not going to stop. Come on…" He pulled Morgan towards the door, but Morgan shrugged him off.

"No. I won't leave him."

"Morgan, you're not with him. He's alone!"

"that's right!" Morgan shouted, whirling and stabbing a finger into Rossi's chest. "He's alone, scared and hurting! Because we aren't there for him! WE failed him! And dammit, I ain't leavin him now!" He sat down and hugged Garcia. "We aren't leaving him…"

"Don't!" Reid was crying, wincing. They couldn't see what was being done to him. He grimaced and whimpered. "Please…" His eyes flicked down towards his attacker, then widened. His pupils dilated in fear. "No… No! NO! HOTCH! HOTCH PLEASE!" Hotchner winced and tuned away, covering his eyes with his hand. This was torture… "MORGAN!" Morgan winced and turned away, too. "MORGAN, HELP ME! PLEASE! GIDEON! NO! NO!" Reid cried, and then there was a hand caressing his cheek.

"It's okay… It will hurt a bit at first…" Graham told him. "But it will get better… you may even enjoy it…"

"No…" Reid whimpered, shaking his head. "Please don't… please let me go…"

"Just hold still." Graham told him, soothingly, smoothing Reid's hair from his face and wiping his tears away. But more took their place… "Shhh… hold still." The team was silent, watching Reid's face. The hand moved down to his shoulder and held him there. Reid's eyes were fixed on the camera. Then, they widened, and Reid's face contorted in pain.

"Ah! AHH!" He yelped, thrashing, then his body jerked and he let out a scream that tapered off into broken sobs.

Tears slid down the faces of Emily, JJ and Garcia… a solitary drop sparkled in the corner of Gideon's eye before it fell. Morgan and Hotchner's eyes were glistening with the tears that they refused to allow to fall. Rossi took a deep breath, and turned away. He did not watch, but silently bore witness to Reid's screams.

* * *

Part of this scene has been removed due to explicit content

* * *

They lay there for a long time, almost half an hour. Finally, Graham stood and walked away. Reid didn't move, other than shivering. A few minutes later, Graham returned. He had dressed. He slid his arms under Reid's shoulders and knees, lifting him up and carrying him from the room. He took Reid into the bathroom. Ryan was waiting. He snorted.

"I'll never understand you, Graham." He sneered, eyeing Reid. "But you served a purpose…" He said, shrugging. "How are you feeling, Dr. Reid?" Reid looked at him.

"… Agent Ryan." He said, weakly. The UnSub paused, then slowly removed his mask. Ryan stared back at Reid, smirking.

"You're not at your best, Dr. Reid." He said, stalking towards Reid as Graham set him on his feet. Only Graham's strong hands kept Reid standing. Ryan got up in Reid's face, smirking. "You don't deserve your job."

"… At least I passed my psychiatric evaluation." Reid hissed. Ryan's eyes flashed and he turned away, but after a moment he turned back, burying his fist into Reid's stomach.

"AHN!" Reid yelped, doubling over and coughing.

"… You're a mess Dr. Reid…" Ryan hissed. "I think you could use a shower." And he turned on the shower in the corner. Within minutes, steam was filling the room. Ryan grabbed Reid's elbow and tossed him in. Reid let out a scream and scrambled to get out. Ryan shoved him back in. "Not until you're done, Dr. Reid." He snapped, morbidly watching the water washing away the blood on Reid's thighs.

Reid whimpered loudly, pressing himself against the wall to escape the steaming water… his skin was already red where the water had made contact. Ryan snarled and his hand darted into the shower, grabbing a handful of Reid's hair and jerking him forwards, directly under the water. Reid cried out in pain and struggled. His feet slipped and he crashed to the floor with a yelp, still being doused in scalding hot water. Ryan didn't let go. He just watched Reid struggle with a deranged grin.

"You're only making it harder on yourself, Dr. Reid…" He hissed, watching Reid's reddening skin. "I guess it IS a bit hot, though… let me cool you off…" And he dragged Reid out of the shower and forced him into the tub. Reid gasped loudly, struggling. The water was freezing cold… the tub was filled with ice… Graham winced when Ryan plunged Reid's head under the water.

"… He seems obsessed with drowning…" Rossi growled.

"It's a painful way to die…" Gideon explained. Ryan waited until Reid's thrashing stopped.

"You take care of him." Ryan snapped, letting Reid go and walking out of the room. Graham sighed and walked over, kneeling by the tub, picking up the shower gel and the cloth and beginning to bathe Reid again. Reid whimpered at every touch of the rough cloth to his tender skin. When Graham's hand moved lower, Reid began to struggle.

"No… No!" He cried. "Don't! Morgan! Hotch!" The team winced. Graham was silent. He finished bathing Reid and lifted him out of the tub. He carried Reid to the mortician's table and rubbed him dry, then dressed him again. Finally, he gathered Reid into his arms and carried him down to the basement. Ryan was waiting. The view in the camera had changed… the team notices two boxes… they were small safes with electronic keypads to unlock them. They sat right before the camera in each corner.

"Tell me, Dr. Reid…" Ryan said, slowly. "Is it worse than you thought?" Reid stared at him, numb. "I am offering you a choice… You have three. One, you can… try to stay strong… hope that your team saves you. Two… you can end it all…" He held up a blade… an exacto knife… he placed it in the first box and closed it. "The code is 'Nathan'." Reid stared at Ryan in disbelief. He remembered that Nathan Harris had attempted to commit suicide by slashing his wrists with an exacto knife… Reid had saved him…

"Or number three…" Ryan said, and pulled out a bottle, and a syringe. Reid's eyes widened and his face went pale. He looked ill. "An escape… The code is 'Tobias'." He turned and placed the bottle and syringe in the box, but before he did, the team got a glimpse at the bottle… Dilaudid…

"It's your choice, Dr. Reid…" Ryan said, smirking. "And don't bother trying to use the blade against us. I will know immediately when you open a box, and which one you opened. Sleep well…" And he and Graham left the basement. Slowly, Reid collapsed to his knees, unable to look away from the box holding the drug… he was in pain… his body was throbbing… he was tired, sick, desperate… but was he really THAT desperate?

The phone rang. Reid turned and stared at it, a strange look on his face. His lip trembled, and he turned away. He crawled onto the cot and pulled the blankets up over himself, his back to the phone and camera…

"No no no…" Morgan groaned. "Don't do this Reid… pick up the phone… Come on, kid…"

But Reid just curled up, wincing in pain. The phone rang and rang and rang… Reid didn't move. The phone stopped ringing. Reid sighed and began to relax… but it started ringing again. Reid tried to ignore it… he let it ring for fifteen minutes. But it didn't stop. Finally, near tears in his frustration, he rolled off of the cot and smacked the button on the phone.

"WHAT?" He snapped, viciously. The team was silent, startled… they had never seen Reid snap before.

"Reid…" Morgan said, softly. "We're here for you…"

"No." Reid choked, looking away. "You're not. You're miles away. You don't know where I am."

"Reid, don't do this." Hotchner said, firmly. "You know we're trying to find you. Don't push us away like this, you're giving him what he wants. You're losing faith. You're giving up."

"… Can you blame me?" Reid whispered.

"Reid… when we get you back, you an' me are gonna sit down together and have a long talk." Morgan said. "Believe me. I understand how you're feeling." Reid didn't respond.

"… You're running out of time…" Reid mumbled, moving back to the cot and lying down, whimpering in pain. "It hurts…" He curled up, wrapping his arms around his mid section.

"We're going to get you home, Spencer." Gideon said. "Don't lose hope."

"… It's all I have." Reid murmured, his voice cracking before he was overcome by a coughing fit. He pulled the blankets over himself and curled up beneath them, sighing. His eyes fell closed almost immediately.

"Reid?" Garcia called, gently. Reid didn't respond.

"Let him sleep." Gideon said, softly. "That's the best healing for him right now." They all settled down, trying to go through all the possible locations Reid was being held in… But only an hour and a half later, Reid seemed to be in the throes of a nightmare. He was restless, mumbling… The team looked up at the screen when he thrashed, arm falling off of the cot.

"No… Morgan no!" Reid cried, suddenly. "Don't leave me in here… please… Morgan… Morgan! Hotch! JJ! Please! Don't leave me!" He jerked awake with a gasp when the phone rang. He doubled over, assaulted by a violent coughing fit. He slowly crawled off of the cot and hit the button on the phone. His coughing ended and he inhaled, chest rattling with the congestion.

"Reid, you're shaking…" Garcia said, concerned.

"Yeah… I had a nightmare…" Reid rasped.

"You're sick, Reid." Hotch said, frowning. "You're short of breath." Reid coughed again, picking up a water bottle and sipping from what little remained. He turned and pulled the blanket off of the bed, wrapping himself up in it. He laid his arm on the table, and rested his head down on it.

"I want to go home…" He breathed, coughing more.

"We'll get you home, Spencer." Gideon said. "Soon…" And Reid fell asleep again.

* * *

My apologies for all of the removed scenes. the site admin is cracking down on explicit content. If you wish to read the story in its entirety, you will be able to find it soon on adult fan fiction . net. Remove the spaces from that... site admin also doesn't allow links on this site... For the full story on this current crack down, please visit my profile.

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

The team woke Reid several times through the night, each time from a nightmare. He cried out to everyone in them, but mostly to Morgan, Hotch, Gideon and Tobias… every time he woke, his eyes would turn on the box holding the Dilaudid, but he would wince and turn away. But each time, his eyes lingered longer…

Morning came. And with it, Ryan.

"Let's go, Dr. Reid." He said, smirking.

"No…" Reid gasped, eyes wide.

"Calm down. You're not going to Graham… At least, not as long as you cooperate." Reid eyed Ryan and slowly stood, limping over to him. The team winced at the blood stain on the seat of his pants. Reid struggled up the stairs, whimpering and coughing.

"You sound like you'll need a doctor." Ryan said, smirking. "Well… I got you a doctor." They stepped out of the basement. But this time, Ryan didn't lead Reid down the hall. They stayed where they were. "I think you're ready now, Dr. Reid."

"… What?" Reid asked, blinking.

"… You're ready for a taste of Frank." Reid went pale and Gideon sat up, eyes wide.

Ryan jerked Reid towards the table. Reid whimpered when Graham walked into the room and wrapped an arm around him, jerking Reid's arm out. Ryan smirked and picked up a syringe from the counter, turning to Reid.

"No… Please don't…" Reid begged, wincing when the needle slid into his vein. The liquid was injected, and in moments Reid collapsed. Graham lifted Reid onto the table and laid him down.

"He's injected him with a paralytic." Gideon murmured. "Reid will feel everything. But he won't be able to move… not even to scream…"

Graham undressed Reid, draping a surgical sheet over his hips. Then he waited, stroking his inner thigh… Reid stared at him, terrified. The door opened and Ryan walked in with a man.

"Dr. Reid… meet Dr. Walters. A local ER surgeon. He will be your doctor today… or his family in the other room will die."

"Look up any missing persons with the surname Walters, Garcia!" Rossi commanded. "Preferably a family, within the past week."

"On it!" Garcia gasped, hurrying from the room… she was glad to have something to do… she didn't want to see this.

"What… what do you want me to do?" Dr. Walters gasped, staring in horror at Reid.

Ryan looked at the man and smirked, picking up a knife. "Let's see… Dr. Walters… if I stab here, what would I hit?" Dr. Walters stared.

"The um… liver…"

"And here?"

"… Lung…"

"Here?"

"… Appendix."

"Perfect." Ryan said, smirking, and plunged the knife into Reid's belly. Reid gasped softly, eyes widening in pain. Dr. Walters cried out in shock.

"What have you done?!"

"I believe I damaged his appendix." Ryan said with a grin. "Dr. Walters, I'm afraid it will have to come out."

"You… you want me to… but… He's conscious!"

"Do it. Or your family dies." Ryan said, calmly.

"… alright…" Dr. Walters gasped, looking sick to his stomach. Slowly, he walked over to the table and looked around at the tools. Then he went to the sink and began to scrub up before putting on a surgical gown and mask, and then gloves. He returned to Reid, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, son." He said, then picked up the scalpel.

The team watched in silent horror as the surgery was performed. Reid's appendix was removed… the doctor sutured him up. They saw the pain in Reid's eyes every moment. When it was over, the doctor was dragged away and Ryan leaned over Reid.

"Tomorrow… it'll be your spleen." He hissed, and Graham returned Reid to the basement after putting him into a pair of pants, but he left his torso bare. The team watched Reid lie there for a long time before the boy could finally move again. When he could, he struggled to move the cot right next to the table. Then he lay down again. From there, he could reach the phone without getting up. He fell back to sleep then…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reid woke to the pain. It throbbed through his entire body like fire in his veins, burning and engulfing his being. He groaned, curling his arms around his abdomen and rocking himself.

"Guys!" Morgan shouted, waking the team. They all came running from their little makeshift beds that they had been sleeping in ever since Reid had been taken. "He's watching the box…" And sure enough, Reid was whimpering, rocking himself and staring at the box.

"God… please…" He breathed, shaking his head. The tears fell. "I can't… I can't…" The phone rang. Slowly, Reid turned and looked at the phone and camera. He reached out, hitting the answer button on the phone with a shaking hand.

"… Don't do it, Reid." Morgan said, immediately. "Come on man. You're better than this. You're stronger." Reid stared at the camera, tears in his eyes.

"No… I'm not." He gasped. "… I'm sorry." And he hung up the phone, reaching for the box. The phone rang. He ignored it, punching in the code. Tobias. The box opened with a click, and Reid stared down. The bottle. The Syringe. And a tourniquet. The phone continued to ring, but he couldn't hear it… As if in slow motion, he mechanically pulled out the tourniquet and wrapped it firmly around his upper arm. He looked down at the inside of his elbow at the veins standing out. He slowly looked up.

"Tell me that it doesn't help?" Tobias offered with a shy smile. Reid blinked, then smiled back.

"… It does help…" He said, softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Guys… who is he talking to?" Garcia asked, looking worried.

"Look at his eyes." Gideon said. "How flushed he is. How he's shaking. He's delirious. He could be hallucinating…"

Tobias smiled at Reid. "I just want to help. I'm sorry I gave this guy ammo to use against you."

"You didn't do it." Reid said. "Your father did. Raphael did. You helped me, Tobias. You saved me."

"… And you set me free." Tobias replied. "Thank you."

Reid nodded to him, then picked up the bottle and the syringe. He still didn't hear the phone. He filled the syringe, being careful not to use too much. He had been clean for a long time. He would have to use a small dose, or risk dying of an overdose. He set the bottle down and held up the syringe, flicking it with a finger. Then he pressed the plunger until the drug squirted out. All air was gone… He looked down and chose a vein. The phone kept ringing.

"No Reid… don't do it…" Gideon moaned.

"Come on, kid…" Morgan prayed out loud. Hotchner just stared, pained. Reid sucked in a breath as the needle pierced his skin and slid into the vein. Slowly, Reid fed the fluid into his blood stream and set the needle onto the table. In moments, he swayed. His eyes rolled back and his mouth fell open in a relieved moan. Slowly, he slumped over onto his side, glazed eyes staring off into space. The drug rushed through his body and the flames of pain were extinguished.

Reid sighed in contentment, curling up on his side. His relief was obvious. He felt like he was… lying on a floating bed… perhaps on water? The world was rocking gently… he had sunk into a down mattress wrapped in warm silk… loving arms embraced him… was it his team?

He smiled slightly, remembering the embraces he had shared with them before… JJ and Hotch after they had found him in the cemetery when he had shot Tobias Hankel… Emily, after the explosion in the Benjamin Cyrus case… Elle after the hostage situation on the train in Texas… He could feel everyone around him… the whole team… his mother… Tobias was smiling at him, hovering like a guardian angel…

"Dammit!" Hotch suddenly exploded, turning away from the screen overcome by frustration. "God dammit…"

"Aaron." Gideon said, softly. "We'll help him. Just like before. We won't let it continue. We'll put a stop to it as soon as we have him."

"I don't know what will damage him most, Jason… what they did to him, or what he just did to himself." Hotchner sighed, dropping into a chair. They watched Reid for a long time, lying there enjoying the relieving high, before he slipped into sleep.

Hours passed by. The others were asleep in their chairs, but they jumped awake when the door slammed open.

"I've got it!" Garcia cried. "I know where to find Reid!" The team was wide awake in a split second. Garcia dropped a pile of printouts on the table.

"Here." She said. "They didn't even cross state lines. This town right here, the Walters family was reported missing almost two days ago. Two daughters, a son, a wife and a father. He's a doctor. At the local ER."

"And?"

"Get this. The Vanderwal's mother's family has land out there. And guess what it's bordering?" Garcia asked, grinning. "Government property. An old research bunker that was decommissioned and abandoned in the late sixties. They found an endangered species of birds use that place as a breeding ground, so it's protected. That's why it's not on the list of places Reid might be held… It's not a research facility or a bunker on any map anymore… it's labeled as a nature preserve."

"Garcia… are you sure…" Hotchner breathed.

"Positive. It all fits." Garcia nodded, breathless. "Hotch… go bring Reid home…"

Hotch looked at her, then grabbed the map and ran out of the meeting room. "I WANT A CHOPPER ON THE ROOF IN TWO MINUTES!!!" He roared. "BAU TEAM, MOVE!" They ran.

"Garcia." Morgan said. "Call the hospital, give them the location, tell them we need a medical chopper there to air lift Reid out." He said, and they both heard Reid cough loudly between his wheezy breaths, his breathing much more labored than when he had first gone to sleep. Garcia nodded, and Morgan hugged her tightly. "Don't worry baby girl. We'll bring the kid home." And he ran after the others. Three minutes later, the team was on board the helicopter as it rose swiftly into the air. It turned, then took off heading in the direction of the underground bunker.

JJ and Garcia sat at her computer, watching Reid sleep. They had decided not to tell him. It was likely that the Vanderwals heard all of their conversations… they couldn't warn them…

"Hang on, baby…" Garcia said, kissing her finger and pressing it to Reid's forehead on the screen. "You'll be home soon."

* * *

"There!" Hotchner shouted, pointing down where the pilot could see. The man nodded and the chopper dropped, settling with a soft thump on the grass. The team clamored out of the chopper, vests and radios equipped, guns at the ready. They flanked the door, glancing around at each other before rushing through.

"Watch yourselves!" Hotch said, eyeing the floor. It was metal. Morgan frowned.

"Screw this, we don't have time!" And he stepped onto the floor. "… Reid wasn't wearing shoes, Hotch. We are." And they ran across.

"I'm going to try and find the control room." Emily said.

"I'll go with you." Rossi said, and they ran off. The rest of the team burst through the next door, knowing perfectly well what they would find. Decaying body parts hanging from the ceiling. They proceeded across the horrific scene, guns out and ready, aiming at every shadow. They burst through the next door. It was a long, dark hallway.

"No strobe light…" Morgan murmured, and they hurried along. The next room had a door high up on the wall. There should have been stairs.

"Here." Morgan said, linking his fingers and bending his knees. Hotch nodded, planting his foot in Morgan's hands. Morgan groaned and hoisted him up, Gideon hanging around beneath them to catch Hotch if he fell. But Hotch reached the door and pushed it open, climbing through. Morgan hoisted Gideon up next, Hotch pulling the elder man up, and then both helped drag Morgan up through the doorway. In the distance, they heard gun shots.

"Dave!" Hotch called through their radios.

"We're okay! Neil is running, but he's hurt. We're in the control room! Hurry! Ryan knows we're here! He's on his way to Reid!" Then there were more shots.

"Let's find Reid." Gideon said. "they can handle themselves." And they moved through the next door, finding themselves in the hall of broken glass… there were dried drops of blood on the floor from when Reid had stumbled down this hall almost a week ago…

"He has Reid! He has Reid!" Emily shouted over the radio.

"MOVE!" Morgan shouted, and they slammed into the door. It was locked. "Dammit!" Morgan shouted, yelping as pain flared through his shoulder. He stepped back and lashed out with his foot, kicking the door. Once. Twice… Three times… on the fourth, the door slammed open. They stared at the room… the morticians table, still smeared with Reid's blood… the surgical instruments…

"Hotch…" Morgan hissed. "Permission to shoot this fucker on sight?!"

"No." Hotch said firmly. "Move. Where are they, Emily?"

"The last room." Rossi told them. "The room that looks like the cabin."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reid groaned, sitting handcuffed to the chair.

"Your team is in the facility." Ryan hissed, holding the revolver aimed at Reid's leg. Reid stared at him, frightened, sick, hurting… "Choose one to die." Reid shook his head.

"… No…"

Ryan smirked and pulled the trigger. There was a loud click. "Choose."

"No." Reid gasped. This time, the gun went off with a loud bang. Reid screamed as the bullet ripped through his thigh.

"Oh yeah… I forgot to tell you." Ryan sneered. "There's more than one bullet in here. There are three. Three empty chambers, three live rounds. Now we're down to two of each. Choose."

"… No." Reid whimpered. Another gun shot went off. Reid threw his head back with a cry of pain as it tore into his abdomen. Vaguely, he heard a door slam open down the hall. Ryan started, then quickly removed the handcuffs and moved to stand behind Reid, jerking him to his feet. Reid almost collapsed, but Ryan wrapped an arm around his chest and under his arms, pressing the gun to his temple. A moment later, the door crashed in.

"FBI!!!" Morgan bellowed, barreling through.

"… I know perfectly well who it is." Ryan snorted, glaring. "Well well… Gideon. Took this runt to bring you out of hiding, hm?"

"Let him go, Ryan." Gideon said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"… Morgan?" Reid whimpered, his voice barely audible. Emily, Rossi, Garcia and JJ watched the feed from the motion sensor activated camera that Neil had set up before running.

"I'm here kid… Ryan, let him go." Morgan said, staring at the gun pressed into Reid's head.

"Now, why would I do that?" Ryan asked, smirking. Hotchner glanced down at Reid's stomach… he was bleeding badly. "He's my only protection."

"You really think you can get that far?" Hotch asked. "Look at him… your 'protection' will collapse halfway down the hall." Ryan chuckled at Hotchner.

"I won't need to get far. Graham will carry him from there. I have no intention of letting you have him back. At least, not alive… Come on, Dr. Reid… let's go…" And he backed into the wall. Suddenly, the wall behind them swung back. Graham stood on the other side of the hidden door. Morgan's eyes widened. He didn't hesitate. He fired. Graham gasped and stumbled back, clutching his arm.

"Graham!" Ryan shouted, and whirled. Reid fell from his arms and hit the floor. Ryan dove through the door and closed it behind him. Gideon, Morgan and Hotch leapt forwards. Hotch tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. Morgan and Gideon dropped to their knees beside Reid.

"Hold on, kid." Morgan gasped, pressing his hands down on Reid's stomach wound, just inches from the healing site of his appendectomy. Reid rolled his head to the side.

"Morgan…"

"Right here, Reid. Hold on."

"… Down the hall." Gideon said, standing. "We need to bandage him up, fast." Morgan nodded, sliding his arms under Reid's knees and shoulders and hoisted him up, running for the other room. Gideon and Hotchner followed. Hotch grabbed a surgery sheet and flung it over the dirty table, and Morgan lay Reid down. The door slammed open.

"Guess who we found." Rossi said, with a grin. A woman, three children, and Dr. Walters walked in, followed by Emily.

"… Doc…" Morgan gasped. "Help him…" Dr. Walters looked at Reid.

"He needs a hospital. A blood transfusion and—"

"We need YOU to stabilize him." Hotchner said. "We have a chopper on the way." Dr. Walter's looked at him, then nodded and began to scrub up.

"Cheryll…" He said, and his wife nodded. "Scrub up and help me."

"… Alright, Glen." She said, and joined him at the seat.

"Cheryll was a nurse before she had our kids." Dr. Walters explained. "It's how we met." The pair put on surgical gowns and masks, and put on gloves, then Dr. Walters moved to Reid while his wife looked through drawers and cabinets to see what was available.

"No anesthesia, nothing for pain." She said, looking at her husband.

"… I'm not sure he's aware enough to register the pain anymore." Dr. Walters said.

"… Doctor…" Gideon said, slowly. "There… there's a bottle of Dilaudid in the basement…" He sighed, sounding defeated.

"… Bring it." Dr. Walters said. Gideon nodded, then turned and left the room, his steps heavy… it was clear what he was thinking…

'What am I doing…?'

When he got back upstairs, the husband and wife team were bent over Reid.

"You got it!" Cheryll gasped, and a moment later a bullet was dropped onto a tray.

"Bandage him up tight." Dr. Walters said. "This is all I can do here. We have to get him out of here. Give me that." He turned and took the Dilaudid, filled a syringe and injected it. Reid twitched, then sighed, eyes rolling back into his head. Gideon winced and looked away.

"We'll use this." Hotch said, walking into the room with a blanket. He spread it out on the floor and Morgan laid Reid down on it. Gideon, Morgan, Hotch and Rossi each took a corner, and they began to make their way out of the facility. Emily led the way. They took side passages that were hidden. It involved a lot of stairs, but they didn't have to worry about electric floors, dangling body parts, strobe lights or sudden drops. They could hear the prop of the helicopter when they emerged from the facility. Paramedics were running towards them with a stretcher. They deposited Reid onto it, blanket and all, and they strapped him onto it, lifting him into the chopper. Hotch climbed in after Reid, and the others went to the other chopper. Both lifted off.


	9. Chapter 9

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

"Hotch…" Morgan called, walking over to the man.

"… He's in surgery." Hotchner said, softly, looking up at the team.

"What are his chances?" Emily asked.

"… With the injuries and illness combined… not good." Hotch sighed. "They think it's pneumonia. Advanced. Garcia and JJ are on their way." And so the team settled in. It was several hours before a doctor approached them.

"Spencer Reid?" He asked, and they all looked up, then stood. "We've moved him into recovery in the ICU. He has a lot of fluid in his lungs, which is causing respiratory distress. He has cracked ribs and bad bruising on his feet. He's badly dehydrated and is also suffering mild malnutrition. And those are just the worst injuries. Cuts, bruises, burns… what the hell happened to him?!"

"… The details are classified." Hotch said, firmly. "But to give a vague summary, he was abducted and held captive and tortured for a week."

"… Are you aware that there is evidence of sexual assault?"

"… Yes." Hotch said.

"I've run a rape kit."

"We'll handle the lab work." Hotch said. "This is our case."

The doctor nodded.

"When can we see him?"

"You can go in now if you like… but he's asleep."

"The man who did this to him is still out there." Hotch said. "I want one of my agents with him at all times."

"Yes sir." The doctor said. "Room 272." The group watched the doctor leave, and all headed to the second floor.

The room was dark and quiet. The only sounds came from the electronics set up around Reid. The heart monitor's obnoxious beeping was only tolerated because it gave the team the reassurance they needed; Reid was alive. The respirator made sure that Reid stayed that way. His chest rose and fell mechanically, and an IV in his arm fed him much needed fluids and nutrients while another replenished his blood supply.

The team was silent, slowly surrounding the bed. Garcia sniffled and reached up, gently brushing Reid's hair out of his face. "Oh, honey…" She whispered, sadly.

"He won't wake for a while." The doctor said from the doorway. "He woke briefly, and panicked. We had to sedate him so he wouldn't hurt himself. He's also doped up on painkillers."

"… He won't be happy about that." Hotch snorted.

"We're being careful, Agent." The doctor said. "Keeping what you told us in mind. And Dr. Walters told us how much Dilaudid he got at what time. It will be fine." She sighed. "Hopefully a familiar face beside him will keep him calm when he wakes again. You all seem to be closer than just co-workers."

"We're a team." Hotchner said.

"… We're a family." Garcia corrected, smiling slightly. The doctor smiled and nodded.

"What about his actual family?" She asked.

"… I think it is best if next of kin is NOT notified at this time." Rossi said, carefully. "We'll handle it when the time is right."

"… I… I'm sorry?" The doctor said, in disbelief.

"That's all you need to know." Rossi said, firmly. The doctor blinked, but nodded and left. The team watched Reid sleep for a long time, before finally drifting off one by one. Rossi took the first shift while Morgan went home to feed and walk his dog. When he was done he returned, and Rossi went home to get some sleep. Morgan was there until the sun went down. He looked up when the door opened.

"Hey Hotch. Oh. Mrs. Hotchner." He stood, smiling and offering his hand. She smiled and took it briefly, nodding. Morgan nodded back and knelt. "Hey there, little Hotch Man." Jack smiled at Morgan and enthusiastically slapped the offered palm in a high five.

"We just got back from dinner." Hotch said. "They wanted to visit for a minute before I took over and sent you home. How is he doing?"

"Sleeping." Morgan said with a shrug. "Doc says he may sleep for a while longer. He's suffering exhaustion in addition to everything else." Slowly, they approached the bed and Hotch picked up his son, who looked down at Reid in curiosity.

"Will he recover?" Haley asked, softly. She reached out and stroked the back of Reid's hand, gently.

"Doc says he'll make a full recovery…" Morgan said, then sighed. "IF he survives his advanced pneumonia and any possible infections. His immune system is really weak." He looked at Hotch. "He twitches sometimes when you talk to him. The doctor says he may be coming out of it, but is too weak to wake fully. But he's trying. She says talking to him can help. When he wakes up, she wants to try and see if he can breathe on his own." Hotchner nodded.

"Okay." He said, watching Jack mimic his mother and pat the back of Reid's hand. "You trying to help him wake up?" He asked his son, and Jack smiled.

"WAKE UP, DR. REID!" The little boy suddenly shouted, making the adults jump. Reid twitched. The small group stared at Jack in surprise, then broke down into laughter. Haley shushed him.

"We have to be gentle, sweetie." She said, grinning at Hotch. "He's very sick."

"You should turn on cartoons." Jack suggested, pointing at the TV up in the corner.

"Oh?" Hotch asked.

"I watch cartoons when I'm sick." Jack explained. Morgan chuckled, grinning at Hotch.

"That's the best way to get better." Morgan agreed with Jack. "But you know what Dr. Reid likes when he's sick? Jell-O."

"I like Jell-O!" Jack gasped, and Hotchner smiled, kissing his forehead.

"Well, maybe your mom will let you have some Jell-O. IF you promise to be good and go to bed for her." He told his son, glancing at Haley. Jack turned, looking expectantly at his mother. She smiled, shaking her head at her ex-husband.

"Only if you promise." She said, taking Jack from his father as he nodded fiercely. "Okay. You can have some Jell-O. Goodnight, Aaron."

"Night, Haley." Hotch said with a nod. "Sleep tight, buddy." And he ruffled Jack's hair. Haley brushed her hand over Reid's again, then carried Jack out of the room. Hotch sighed, watching her go.

"Cute kid, Hotch." Morgan snickered. "Can't wait to tell Reid how your boy tried to help him." Hotch was unable to contain the chuckle.

"I can't believe he did that…" He said, turning and looking down at Reid. His smile faded.

"Hotch. He'll be okay." Morgan assured him. "Need anything?"

"No." Hotch said. "Who will relieve me?"

"Elle."

"Elle?"

"Yeah. She just flew into town." Morgan said. "She was out on a job, so she just got the message. But she came as soon as she could. She feels bad that she didn't get here earlier."

Hotch sighed. "I'll set her straight." He said, and Morgan nodded.

"Just make sure you call everyone the minute he wakes up." He told his boss. Hotchner nodded, slowly taking a seat in the chair by Reid's bed.

"Sure thing."

"Night Hotch." Morgan said, and walked out of the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reid could vaguely hear the soft murmuring… He knew that voice… He tried to call out through the dark fog…

"… Morgan? Morgan!" He shouted in his mind, but his body would not respond. "I'm here!" He could feel the man's hand, strong and firm, but gentle. He tried to close his fingers around Morgan's hand to let him know that he knew he was there… but he was unable to do more than twitch his middle finger. When he did, he felt Morgan's other hand cover his own.

"Come on, kid…" He faintly heard Morgan say. "Stay strong. You can beat this. Wake up…"

"Morgan… I'm trying… I… I don't like it here…" Reid gasped. "It's dark. I don't like it… I'm alone." But Morgan couldn't hear him. Morgan didn't answer. But Morgan didn't let go, either. It was the one thing that kept Reid clinging to the only string of consciousness that he had. The warm, comforting hand… it felt as though years had passed… and then, the hand left.

"Morgan? Morgan?!" Reid cried. He wanted to reach out, try and catch the hand, but he couldn't move… Then, there were voices… "Hotch?" A woman's voice… it wasn't JJ or Emily… who was it? Then, soft touches on his hand. He wanted to cry in relief. Then a hand on his own. It was small… so small…

"WAKE UP DR. REID!!!" Reid jumped a the sudden shout, startled. Who was that? His mind swirled in confusion. Riley Jenkins? No… he was dead... dead for twenty years… Jack. It was Jack Hotchner. He heard soft laughter, then more murmuring, another gentle touch to his hand, and then all was silent. Had he been left alone again?

"Morgan?" He called into the nothingness. "Hotch?" He felt himself sinking… losing his grip on awareness. "No… I don't want to…" He moaned, reaching up for that string of consciousness he had been clinging to. Then, there was a hand holding his, and he managed to catch that string.

"Hey Reid…" He heard a soft voice say. It was full of pity, regret… guilt…

"Hotch…" Reid said in shock. Guilt? Surely the man wasn't blaming himself for what had happened… Of course he was… This was Hotch. He always did. He was protective of his team. And especially of Reid. They all were. Reid tried to pretend that they weren't… he found it embarrassing. He thought that it was because they thought he was weak. But right there in that moment, Reid realized that this wasn't completely true. They were protective because they cared that much about him. As he care for them. The BAU team was a family, always there for each other. Reid sighed and relaxed. They were not leaving him alone, he realized. He was able to relax in that knowledge. He didn't know how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours?

"I'm sorry…" He heard Hotchner gasp. Was… was he crying? "I'm so sorry, Reid… I… I keep telling myself that this isn't my fault… How could we have known that WE were the next target? That you were the next victim… How could we have known that you weren't safe in your own home? How could we have known where they had taken you…? I know it was out of my control, but… knowing doesn't make me feel any better. I can't help but feel that we… that I… should have been there for you… protected you from him. Or gotten you out of there sooner. But we didn't. And I hate myself for it…"

Reid shook his head. No. Hotch couldn't put himself through this… he couldn't let him. He clawed his way upwards…

"I'm so sorry, Reid…" Hotch continued. "First the Hankel case… Benjamin Cyrus… that Nathan kid… Adam Jackson…I know that case in Texas was hard on you… so was that case in Vegas… then there was that… damned Anthrax… and now this."

"Hotch… You can't protect me from everything…" Reid tried to say, dragging himself out of the darkness. Then, he could feel it. His aching body in the bed… the needles in his arms, the tube in his throat. His hand in Aaron Hotchner's. Weakly, he closed his fingers around Hotch's hand, holding it. Hotch blinked at the pale hand, then looked up.

"Reid?" He called, almost afraid to hope. Reid squeezed his hand. "Reid, can you hear me?" Reid turned his head towards Hotch, every so slightly. Hotch leaned forwards, eyes wide. "Reid… come on…" He reached out and laid a hand on Reid's cheek. "Wake up." Reid's brow furrowed slightly, and a moment later tired eyes cracked open. Slowly, Agent Hotchner smiled.

"Hey… Welcome back…" He said, softly. Reid closed his eyes, grimacing in pain, then opened them again. He looked at Hotch. "Squeeze once for yes, twice for no…" Hotch told him. "Do you understand?" One squeeze. "Okay. Do you know where you are?" Reid blinked and slowly looked around, then squeezed Hotch's hand once. "Are you in pain?"

Yes.

"Okay. I'll get the doctor." Hotch said, but Reid responded with two anxious squeezes. Hotch looked at him. "What? Don't you want any pain killers?" Reid winced and looked away, guilt in his eyes. "Reid… is this about the Dilaudid?" Reid closed his eyes. "Reid, don't do this to yourself, do you understand me?" Reid tried to pull his hand out of Hotch's grip, but Hotch didn't let him. "Reid. Look at me." Slowly, Reid obeyed. "No one blames you. You were hurt, scared, delirious… It's okay. Are you afraid that you're addicted again?"

Yes.

"You're not. You had TWO injections. And you will not have another. We are here for you. And Reid. If you find yourself… craving it, I want you to come see one of us. Me, Jason, Morgan, Garcia… any one. Promise me, Reid." Reid stared at Hotchner, then squeezed his hand. Hotch smiled and nodded. "Good." He said, laying a hand on Reid's cheek again. "Wait here. I'm calling the others. They wanted to know the moment you woke up. Or do you want to sleep some more?" Reid blinked. "Do you want to sleep?"

Yes.

"… Okay. The others will be here in the morning. Do you want me to wake you when they get here?"

Yes.

"Alright. Just get some sleep, Reid. I'm right here." Hotch assured him, taking out his cell phone. Reid stared at him, his eyes slowly falling closed, and finally, he was able to have a restful sleep.

* * *

"Mornin' Hotch."

"Elle. Hi." Hotch said, looking up when the group came in. "How are you?"

"I'd be a lot better if this reunion was under better circumstances." She said, looking at Reid.

"He woke up last night?" Gideon asked.

"Yes. Shortly. He asked me not to call you guys. He wanted to sleep." Hotch said.

"How did he tell you?" JJ asked, eyeing the tube that ran down Reid's throat.

"Squeezed my hand." Hotch explained. "Once for yes, twice for no." He turned and leaned over their youngest team member. "Reid… Reid, wake up." Reid twitched, turning his head towards Hotch. He moaned slightly, then slowly blinked his eyes open. Hotchner smiled at him. "Good morning." He said, squeezing Reid's hand. Then he sat back, and Reid saw the team. His eyes lit up, and he weakly raised a hand in greeting. There were smiles in response.

"Hey Spencer." Gideon said, smiling. Reid nodded slightly, wincing. Quietly, the group gathered around the bed. Reid's eyes smiled at Elle.

"What the hell did you get yourself into, Reid…" She asked, smiling at him and smoothing hair out of his face.

"I see Dr. Reid has decided to join you." The doctor said, walking in. She smiled. "Dr. Reid… would you like to try and breathe on your own?" Reid squeezed Hotch's hand.

"He says yes." Hotch said, and she smiled and nodded, walking over.

"Okay. Now, when I disconnect you, you will have to put conscious effort into it at first. Then nature will take over. But if you can't, don't panic. Just squeeze Agent Hotchner's hand if you want me to reconnect you. Okay?"

"He says yes." Hotch said.

"Okay. Here we go." The doctor said, and she disconnected Reid from the respirator. The team held their breaths. Reid closed his eyes for a bit, then squirmed. He tilted his head back, then let out a weak gasp. He tried to swallow around the tube before gasping again. He gasped once more before finally drawing a rattling breath, the congestion thick. Reid winced, exhaling, then took another breath. Slowly, he began to build up a natural rhythm, and then he opened his eyes looking at the doctor. She smiled.

"Well done. Hold still, this is going to be uncomfortable." She said, leaning over. Garcia winced when Reid gagged as the tube was removed from his throat. He coughed, violently, and the doctor held a cup of water to his lips. "Slowly." She said.

Reid sipped the water, wetting down his extremely dry throat.

"There… better?" The doctor asked. Reid looked up at her, and nodded. "Good. Now, let your throat rest. Don't start trading gossip right away, okay?" Reid nodded again. "I'll let you all catch up then." She said, turning and leaving the room.

Garcia made the first move. She leaned over and hugged Reid, tightly, kissing his forehead. "I'm so glad you're home, baby…" Reid gave her a small smile, and looked down when Morgan took his other hand. Reid looked around at them, then swallowed and opened his mouth.

"Don't talk, Reid." Morgan said, firmly. Reid gave him a defiant look.

"… The brothers." He gasped, his voice dry and wheezy, little more than a whisper. The team looked around at each other.

"… They got away." Hotch said.

"You didn't tell me that!" Elle gasped, eyes wide.

"It's why we're keeping a 24 hour watch on Reid." Gideon said. "So they can't come back to finish the job." Reid gulped loudly, the color draining from his face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A week passed. Reid started to get better. Breathing was easier. Speaking was easier. Despite the fact that the brothers were still out there, Reid felt safe. Every time he opened his eyes, there was a smiling face there to greet him. Mostly it was Morgan, Gideon, Hotch and Garcia. But a few times it was JJ, Emily or Elle. Garcia always came in with someone else. Technically they were standing guard over Reid, and she didn't carry a gun, so they decided that it was best if she was not considered part of the guard. She was the comfort. Thanks to her and the other girls, Reid's room was filled with flowers, and he now was sharing his bed with a large brown teddy bear with a big red bow around its neck. The thing was almost as big as Reid's torso. Morgan, and even Hotch had laughed when Reid complained that his furry companion was hogging the bed.

Cards were everywhere. From his team, from other people in the Bureau (even Section Chief Strauss, to Reid's surprise), as well as friends… Reid was surprised at how many there were… people from his building (he didn't really even know any of them), people his team had helped, like Nathan and his mother, and Lila… He had blushed when he opened that one, and Morgan teased him mercilessly.

Will and Henry had come to visit with JJ one evening when the whole team was there. That visit was filled with smiles. And laughter, especially at how awkward Reid was when Will decided to make him hold the baby.

"Don' worry, Dr. Reid." Will said in his thick Cajun accent. "It takes practice." Reid smiled at him in thanks when he took Henry back.

"You need your practice, Spence. Welcome to being a Godfather." JJ teased.

"… JJ. If I may…" Reid said, smirking. "Please note the IV… the hospital bed. The stitches, the bruising. Oh. AND the um… urinary catheter until they took it out this morning. I think I can get away with no practice for a bit."

"Ooh… eew…" Morgan winced, hand moving to cover his groin in sympathetic protectiveness. The others laughed at that.

"Tell me about it." Reid snorted.

"Oh? Something out there actually DOES freak you out?" Morgan teased, and Reid smiled slightly.

"I know what freaks him out." JJ said, grinning. "Feeling a baby kicking inside of a pregnant woman." Reid looked at her, and the pair shared a laugh about their private joke. JJ leaned over, kissing Reid's forehead.

"If I get pregnant again, I'll make you feel it EVERY day."

"Oh, no, please." Reid whined, shaking his head, and the group laughed again.

"Reid…" Morgan said after a moment, and Reid looked at him. "How are you doing?"

Reid blinked and looked down at himself. "… Healing. Getting better every day." He said. Morgan sighed and walked over.

"I mean in here." He said, pressing a finger to Reid's forehead. Reid blinked and stared at him, then averted his eyes.

"… Okay, I guess. I… I'm afraid to be alone." He confessed.

"And… what about what Graham did?" Morgan asked. Reid looked at him.

"It happened. There's nothing I can do about that. All there is to do is accept that it happened, I can't change it… all I can do is accept it and…" He looked at Morgan, smiling slightly. "And use it to… what was it you told me? To become a better profiler, and a better person." Morgan blinked, then smiled and snorted.

"Good for you, kid."

"I took that to heart last time. Just like you said. Why is this time any different? I'm not going to let it eat at me from the inside out." Reid insisted. "And besides. I know I can count on you guys to be there when I need you."

"… But we weren't…" Hotchner said, frowning.

"You were there when it mattered." Reid said. "Hotch, you think I couldn't hear you that first night you spent in here with me? You can't blame yourself. You can't protect us from everything. Things will happen. We have to rely on each other to do their jobs. I relied on you to save me. And here I am." Reid smiled. "You uh… you did." Morgan shook his head, chuckling, then wrapped an arm around Reid's thin shoulders in a small hug.

"That's my boy." He said, and Reid grinned.

"I'll be okay." He assured the others. "I feel safe with you guys." Gideon smiled, nodding, and the girls grinned at Reid when he yawned.

"I think it's nap time, pretty boy." Morgan laughed, and Reid rubbed his nose with his middle finger. "Ooh… Ouch." Morgan snickered as Reid lay down.

"Whoever comes to see me in the morning…" Reid said, making himself comfortable. "Could you bring me some coffee?" The group laughed.

"Doctor said no caffeine until she okays it, Reid." Emily said. "Sorry."

"Damn." Reid grumbled, rolling on his side and wrinkling his nose when the fur of the teddy bear tickled him. He snorted and shoved it over. He blinked when someone pulled the blankets up and tucked him in. It was Garcia. The others were already filing out of the room. Gideon was sitting down in a chair by the bed, and so did Garcia. She pulled a book out of her bag and showed it to Reid.

"Know this one?" She asked. Reid smiled and nodded. She pulled out another. "And this one?"

"Yep."

"Damn. This one?"

"Ummm… yes."

"You suck, Dr. Reid. This one?"

"… Actually, no."

"Good." Garcia said. She cracked open the book, and began to read aloud. Reid smiled, both amused and comforted. He looked down at Gideon when he felt the elder man take his hand. He gave Gideon a grateful smile and closed his eyes. With the gentle hand and the soft voice, Reid slipped into sleep easily…


	10. Chapter 10

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

Reid was still asleep when Gideon and Garcia started moving around in the morning. Garcia went to the bathroom to freshen up while Gideon went to get them some coffee. And Reid some juice and Jell-O to placate him with when they had coffee and he didn't…

The door opened and a man in scrubs walked in and over to the bathroom door, wedging a chair under the knob.

"Gideon?" Garcia called from inside. There was no answer. She tried to open the door. "Gideon? Hey… Hey!" The man walked over to Reid's beside and reached out, stroking his hair.

"Beautiful…" Graham whispered. Reid jerked awake, eyes wide, but before he could call out, there was a hand over his mouth. "Shhhh… let's go, Spencer." And he began to remove the IV's and all the wires and tubes from Reid's body, then dragged him out of the bed. Reid whimpered, his legs shaking weakly. Graham moved towards the door, ignoring Garcia trying to force her way out of the bathroom.

They stepped out into the hallway.

"Dr. Reid, what are- OH!" A nurse gasped. Graham had pulled a gun and had it pressed into Reid's stomach.

"Let's go, Spencer…" Graham hissed into Reid's ear, and they stumbled down the hall. Moments later, an alarm sounded.

"You can't get out." Reid gasped. "They've been on guard, waiting for one of you to make a move on me. The place will be surrounded within two minutes."

"… We'll get out." Graham hissed, dragging Reid into the elevator. But they didn't go down… they went up. All the way to the top floor… They left the elevator and Graham dragged Reid up the stairs and onto the roof. Reid winced and stumbled; the gravel hurt his bare feet. Graham pulled out a cell phone and passed it to Reid.

"Call Agent Hotchner." He said. Reid blinked, staring, but took the phone and dialed.

"Hotchner." Came the answer.

"Hotch?" Reid squeaked.

"Reid? What are you… Is something wrong?"

"Uh… you could say that…" Reid said, wincing.

"Tell him where you are and who you're with, and tell him that you have a gun to your back." Graham hissed, standing behind Reid.

"Reid, what's wrong?" Hotch asked, standing and hurrying to the door of his office, waving everyone to him. They came running. Hotch put the phone on speaker.

"I uh… I'm on the roof of the hospital."

"What the hell are you doing there?" Hotch demanded.

"Graham Vanderwal." Reid gasped, wincing when a hand ran down his side. "He has a gun…" Graham nuzzled Reid's ear, and whispered into it. "He wants a helicopter in thirty minutes, or… or he'll kill me." Graham took the phone from Reid, and closed it.

The team stared at it. "The hospital." Hotch said. "MOVE." And everyone ran from the room.

"We have a bit of time…" Graham hissed into Reid's ear, turning and pressing him up against the wall.

"Yeah… for me to puke." Reid grumbled. Graham blinked, then glared. He pulled Reid back, then slammed him into the wall. Reid yelped, then whimpered when the man wedged a knee between his legs and forced him to spread them.

* * *

"Gideon!" Hotch called, and Gideon turned.

"Graham has Reid." Gideon gasped.

"We know. He wants a chopper in…" Hotch checked his watch, "In seventeen minutes. On the roof. Where was Garcia?"

"Graham locked her in the bathroom." Gideon said, looking at the woman who was clinging to Morgan. "I was getting coffee." Hotch nodded.

"He has a gun, Jason. He'll kill Reid if the thinks he's cornered."

"… Send him the chopper. And we go up. Make it so that he has to turn his back on the door to get to it. He'll probably be holding Reid in front of him. We can take him from behind."

"… Alright." Hotch said. "Rossi and JJ, I want you two in the chopper. Morgan, Prentiss. With me. Everyone stay in contact!" He said, and they ran into the hospital, running for the roof…

Elle moved to follow, but Gideon grabbed her elbow. "We're civilians." He told her, shaking his head. "We have to wait here with Garcia."

* * *

Hotch, Morgan and Prentiss moved up the stairs to the door to the roof.

"We wait for Rossi to say when." Hotch told the others. They nodded. A few moments later, Rossi's voice came over the radio, shouting to be heard over the prop.

"We have a visual. It's not very good, but it looks like Reid and Graham got into it."

"What?" Morgan blurted.

"Graham is on top, looks like he's getting the best of Reid, but the kid is fighting back!"

* * *

Reid whimpered… he had been thrown down on the ground in the middle of Graham's sexual assault against him... he was sure his skin had torn around some of his stitches… He slid a hand down Graham's side… there… cold metal. Carefully, he hooked his finger in the trigger guard and lifted it out of the pocket. He took firm hold, then moved his hand down and pressed the barrel into Graham's stomach.

"Get off." He hissed. Graham blinked and stared, eyes wide in surprise.

"… You…" He gasped.

"Get. Off." Reid ordered. Graham blinked again, then narrowed his eyes, stuffed himself back into his pants and closed a hand around Reid's throat; his other hand went for the gun…

* * *

Morgan, Prentiss and Hotch all froze… shots rang out… several… with the sound from the helicopter coming in, it was hard to tell how many… but it was a lot…

Hotch shouted into the radio. "SHOTS FIRED! SHOTS FIRED! Rossi! What's going on?"

Rossi stared. Graham and Reid were still struggling… but then they stopped. Graham slowly sat up, and Rossi saw a red stain on Reid's stomach that wasn't there a moment ago, standing out harshly on the white hospital gown… His heart dropped.

"Man down! Man down!" He shouted into the radio. "Reid's been shot! Repeat! Reid is DOWN!"

"Land this thing, NOW!" JJ cried, and the pilot nodded. The chopper dropped.

"MOVE!" Hotchner ordered, bursting through the door and sprinting across the roof with Morgan and Prentiss towards where Reid and Graham were still struggling with each other. Graham had the gun… he struck Reid in the head with it then turned, eyes wide. He swung the weapon in a wide arc and leveled it on Hotch. He pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, loudly. Reid closed his eyes and his head dropped onto the ground with a soft thump.

Morgan tackled Graham off of Reid, and Hotch dropped to his knees beside him.

"REID?" He shouted, eyes wide. Reid was pale, but he opened his eyes and looked up when Hotch curled an arm under his shoulders and helped him sit up. The chopper landed and JJ and Rossi ran across the roof. Emily took off her jacket and pressed it to Reid's bloody stomach.

"Ouch! Emily!" Reid yelped, and pushed her hands away. "I'm okay, I'm okay!" Hotch blinked, looking down at Reid. "I think I busted some stitches but—HEY!" He cried when Hotch literally ripped the hospital gown off of his body. Reid snatched it and covered his lap, blushing and glaring at his boss. But the man was inspecting Reid's torso. Sure enough, there were some ripped sutures, but other than that it was just blood smeared across a stomach without a wound…

"It's Graham…" Reid said, softly. Hotch turned and stared at the man. He was pale and gasping, blood soaking his shirt and dripping to the ground. There were five holes in his stomach and chest. Reid stared up at him and Morgan and Rossi released the man. He coughed, blood flying from his lips, and collapsed. Graham stared at Reid. Reid stared back for a moment, then turned away. Moments later, Graham gasped and shuddered, then went still.

"He's gone." Rossi said after checking for a pulse, and Morgan moved to kneel by Reid.

"Kid… you okay?" He asked, and Reid smiled slightly, nodding.

"Other than a bare ass on gravel and busted stitches and Hotch destroying what little clothing I have…" He said, eyeing his destroyed hospital gown. Hotch rolled his eyes, but smiled and removed his coat, wrapping it around Reid's shivering body.

"It's cold. Let's get you back inside." He said, and slowly helped Reid to his feet. Reid winced. "Care to let me borrow your shoes, too?" He asked, and Hotch blinked, then smiled in amusement.

"Come here, pretty boy." Morgan chuckled, and swung Reid up into his arms.

"AH! Hey! Morgan!" Reid yelped, flinging his arms around Morgan's neck.

"You hush." Morgan snorted. "You are a walking trouble magnet." He said, carrying Reid across the roof and down the stairs. The doctor met them in Reid's room and took over, ushering everyone out. Half an hour later, she came out.

"We got him cleaned up. He tore some stitches and has a few scrapes and bruises. But there is also fresh evidence of another sexual assault." She said.

"… You gotta be KIDDING me!" Morgan gasped. "He raped him while waiting for the chopper?"

"Looks that way, Agent." The doctor said. "Surprisingly… he doesn't seem upset by it. You can see him now." And they all filed into the room. Reid smiled at them.

"Déjà vu." He said, waving to the team. None of them smiled or waved back. Reid's smile faded. "… What?"

"… He raped you again." Hotchner said, firmly.

"… Oh. That. Yeah. I uh… I let him." Reid mumbled.

"… What?" Morgan blurted.

"… It would have happened one of two ways." Reid said. "He would have thrown me down, forced me and hit me… or I could have let him have it his way, and gotten his gun when he was distracted. I chose to get the gun. I figured it was my… best chance." Reid said with a shrug. "When I got the gun I just… kept pulling the trigger. I wanted to make sure that if he got it away from me, there was nothing left in it… So he couldn't use it against me… or you." He looked at Hotch. "Like he did."

"… That was good work, Reid." Hotch said. "I think what you did may have saved your life. It uh… it definitely saved mine. If there was a bullet in that gun, it would have gone straight through my head."

Reid sighed and smiled. "One down, two to go."

"Hotch… can I talk to you outside?" Rossi asked. Hotchner blinked, then nodded and followed Rossi out, Gideon tagging along.

"What's wrong, Dave?" Hotch asked.

"… I think you need to see about getting him some therapy."

"… Okay…" Hotch said, slowly.

"He's hiding himself." Rossi said, and Gideon sighed.

"He's right, Hotch…" He agreed. "Spencer is… not showing that this attack affected him in any way…"

"You know Reid…" Hotch said. "He doesn't like to show weakness in front of us."

"Aaron… I think he's taking it too well." Rossi said.

"I trust Reid." Hotch said. "You haven't been around for a long time, Jason. I trust that if he needs help, he'll get it. I think right now, he's trying to hide how scared he is. There are still two brothers out there that may try to kill him."

"Okay." Gideon said. "You know this Reid. I know the Reid from two years ago. What do you think?"

"I think that Reid knows when to get help, and when he does, he will go to me, Morgan or Garcia." Hotch said.

"… Okay." Gideon said with a nod, and they went back into the room.

"You uh… you finished talking about me?" Reid asked.

"… For now." Rossi said with a smirk.

"I'm arranging a guard at the door." JJ said. "Two uniformed officers. No one can get in without an ID, be if FBI or hospital staff." Reid rolled his eyes, sitting back in a huff before slowly turning and eyeing the big brown teddy bear sitting next to him.

"You need to get some rest." Gideon said, gripping Reid's shoulder gently. Reid gave him a meek smile and shook his head.

"It's still morning." Reid said. "I need coffee."

"I don't think so." The doctor said, walking into the room briskly. She walked over to Reid with a syringe and slid the needle into the IV catheter, injecting the clear liquid into Reid's blood stream. "This will help you sleep, Dr. Reid."

"What? This is so not fair!" He whined. Garcia smiled.

"I'll read to you until you go to sleep." She offered.

"No… it's okay," Reid grumbled, making himself comfortable. "I uh… I think what she just gave me is all the incentive I'll need…" Garcia smiled at him. She waited until Reid got comfortable, curling up on his side, then she tucked him in, kissing his cheek and everything. Reid blinked, raising an eyebrow at Morgan, who grinned back. Garcia then settled down, running her fingers soothingly through Reid's hair.

"Sleep tight, sugar." She cooed. Reid's answer was overtaken by a yawn.

"I'll stay with him." Morgan told the others, and they all filed out. Morgan sat down and took Reid's hand, and watched him. Reid was asleep only moments later.

* * *

"No no no, Garcia…" Morgan said, grinning. "I may not be able to take you down in MarioKart or Sonic Riders… but if I get you on a game of HALO, I WILL win."

"Oh, I don't think so, Mr. Ego Man. I am the Almighty Penelope Garcia, Mistress of the World of all things with a computer chip in them. That includes video games. I will totally own you…" She said, poking Morgan in the chest. "And I will bring that ego of yours down a peg or two in the process of—"

"No…" They both stopped and turned when they heard Reid. He twitched. "… Please… no…" Morgan looked at Garcia, and they both stood and moved over to the bed. Reid's hands were shaking and he had broken into a sweat. "I won't… choose who dies…" Morgan sighed, shaking his head. He took Reid's hand.

"Reid… wake up, kid…" Morgan called, softly.

"No… please don't…" Reid moaned, rolling his head from side to side. "Don't… No… No! Morgan! Morgan… Oh God… help me! Hotch! Morgan! NO!"

"REID!" Morgan shouted, shaking Reid. His eyed snapped open and he jerked up, gasping, hands flying to Morgan. Morgan winced at the strength of Reid's grip on his arms. "Reid… Hey… it's okay, calm down…"

Reid stared at Morgan, then threw his arm around him, breaking down into tears. Garcia looked at Morgan, alarmed. "… You're alive…" Reid gasped. Morgan blinked.

"Uh… Yeah." Morgan said, slowly. "Reid, what scared you?"

"Ryan… He had all of you lined up… he told me to choose one of you to die… when I refused he…"

"Okay…" Morgan said. "I get it. He killed me." Reid stared at him, and nodded. "It's okay, Reid… I'm right here. Go back to sleep." Reid slowly let Morgan push him back down again, and he tried to relax. Garcia and Morgan held his hands until he fell asleep again. But less than an hour later, Reid was in the throes of another nightmare. And it continued all day. By three pm, they had woken Reid from his sixth nightmare. Morgan stepped out of the room, borrowing the phone at the nurses' station.

"Hotchner."

"Hey Hotch, it's Morgan. I think we may have a problem."

* * *

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

The team sat around Reid, who was sleeping again. Morgan sighed. "Reid's been in this hospital for over a week." He said. "And he's been great. He's been sleeping well, eating well, recovering well. He's been in good spirits. And now, suddenly, he's scared and having nightmares. Why now? Why all of a sudden?"

"He distanced himself from what happened." Gideon said, slowly. "When they had him, it was all like a bad dream. And when he woke up, he was here. He convinced himself that it was two different worlds. When he was with them, he would be hurt. When he was with us, he would be safe. But then, the two worlds collided. He was with us, but Graham came in and hurt him anyway. It brought him back to reality."

Hotchner sighed and continued. "Now he realizes that just because he's with us, it doesn't mean he's safe. And they're still coming for him. He separated them because he couldn't deal with it. But Graham's attack slammed everything back together for him. He can't protect himself by separating us and them anymore. We're all in the same world and we're going to clash. Reid has accepted it as an inevitability, and he's terrified because of it."

"He's afraid we're going to be killed because of him." Morgan said. "That's what he keeps dreaming about. We're going to die protecting him, and that he'll end up right back in that place with those men, with, as he sees it, us dead because of him."

"Wait…" Garcia said slowly. "So… he mentally put a wall between his captivity and his life as… two different realities?" Rossi nodded.

"It happens. It's a mechanism of mental self defense. It's rarely forever, it just kind of buys him time to slowly process something painful. Graham's attack tore down that wall before Reid was ready for it to come down." Rossi explained. "Now that everything has come together, it's hurting and scaring him. This is what we had been expecting from the beginning, as soon as we got him back. But his mind, resilient as it is, spared him the brunt of the pain for a while longer so he could prepare to deal with it."

"Oh…" Garcia said.

"… No…" Reid mumbled suddenly. Morgan sighed, reaching out and shaking Reid.

"Wake up, kid." He said, firmly, and Reid jerked awake.

"… Whoa… hi…" He said, looking around at everyone and blinking at the way they were looking at him. "… What's wrong?" He asked.

"Reid." Hotch said, firmly. "I want you to listen to me very closely. Don't distance yourself from what happened to you. You know perfectly well that pretending it didn't happen is just asking for trouble. It's a wound you have to take care of for it to heal. Ignore it and it will fester." Reid looked down, curling in on himself. "Reid, look at me." Reid swallowed and obeyed.

"You're scared. There's nothing wrong with that. We are ALL here. We're not going to let them hurt you again. And we are NOT going to die protecting you. And even if we do, know this… Reid. LOOK at me." Reid obeyed, eyes bloodshot as he fought back tears. "Even if someone DOES die, it is NOT your fault. We are all willing to put our lives on the line for you. Just as you would for us." Hotchner said, firmly. Reid slowly nodded.

"You WOULD do that for us, right?" Morgan teased. Reid smiled slightly.

"You know I would." He said, quietly. "For any of you. You guys are…" He trailed off, turning away in embarrassment.

"Family." Garcia said with a smile. Reid looked up at her.

"… Yeah. Family." Reid agreed, slowly smiling.

"There ya go…" Garcia crooned. "There's that shy awkward Dr. Reid smile." And she pinched his cheek. "And here's a kiss from your Aunt Penelope." And she kissed his forehead. Reid's smile broadened.

"And a noogie from Big Brother Derek." Morgan said, grabbing Reid in a headlock and rubbing the top of his head with his fist. Reid howled in protest.

"Next, you'll get a cup of cocoa from Daddy Aaron." Elle laughed.

"Hey hey hey..." Hotch called out when the group laughed at that. "There is only ONE person on his earth allowed to call me 'Daddy' and no one in this room is that person." This just made them laugh harder. Even Reid was chuckling slightly. Hotch gave him a look, and Reid cleared his throat and stopped, trying not to smile… and failing. Gideon gave Hotchner an amused look.

"Did I ever tell you about the time Elle called me dad?" He asked. Hotch raised an eyebrow and Elle grinned.

"He told me never to call him that again." She said, and looked at Gideon. "Didn't you, Mom?" Gideon made a double take at her, and Reid choked, eyes wide.

"Hey! You promised you would warn me before you called him that!" He blurted as Gideon glared at Elle.

"Why, so you could have a camera ready?" JJ asked, grinning.

"No… So I could run!" Reid snorted, and the others laughed.

"Sorry Reid." Elle said, patting his hand. Reid just nodded, mutely. Rossi and Hotchner met silent glances at one another. Reid's recovery had just begun…

* * *

"No—stop it – I don't WANT you to read to me, I don't WANT you to brush my hair or massage my feet or ANY thing! I want to go HOME!!!" Reid bitched loudly, batting Garcia's hands away. "I am going CRAZY. I just want to go home…"

"Not until the doctor okays it." Morgan said. "And I'll be staying with you until you get your locks changed and an alarm system installed."

"What?!" Reid cried.

"Listen to me, baby cakes." Garcia said, shaking Reid's shoulder. "Don't bother arguing with him. It's futile." Reid sat back in a huff. A moment later, a hospital volunteer walked in.

"Lunch, Dr. Reid." She said with a smile. Reid sighed, glancing at the tray… he looked queasy. Morgan frowned and watched him. She set the tray before Reid and uncovered it. Green beans, macaroni and cheese and chicken strips. Reid swallowed thickly, reaching out and picking up the little carton of milk. He opened it and sipped it, slowly. Once he finished the milk, he picked up the orange Jell-O.

"Hey Reid. Lunch first, THEN dessert." Morgan said, firmly.

"… I uh… I'm not going to eat it." Reid said.

"No lunch, no Jell-O." Morgan said, smiling.

"… Fine then, I won't eat anything at all." Reid said defiantly, staring at Morgan in a challenging manner. Morgan stared back, then sighed and looked away. Reid unwrapped the Jell-O and began to eat it. Morgan watched him.

"Reid." He said suddenly. "Why aren't you eating?"

"… YOU eat it."

"No thanks." Morgan said.

"Garcia, you want it?" Reid asked.

"Nah. I've had more hospital food than I ever would have wanted. Nasty stuff."

"Exactly." Reid said with a nod, slurping another piece of Jell-O. Garcia blinked, then slowly smiled. She looked at Morgan.

"The macaroni is LOUSY." She told him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Reid, you need to eat." He said.

"I will. Just not that crap." Reid told Morgan.

Morgan sighed and shook his head. "Please Reid? For me?"

"… No!" Reid insisted, finishing his Jell-O and pushing the rest of the meal away.

"Reid, you have to eat to get better."

"I'm better!" Reid insisted.

"Reid." Morgan said. "You're pale, thin, weak and scared. You are gonna be healing for a LONG time."

"… I want to go home." Reid said.

"When the doctor gives the okay." Morgan said for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"I just talked to the doctor." Gideon said, walking into the room. He smiled. "You can go home tomorrow, Spencer." Reid gave Gideon a small smile. Gideon looked at the table by Reid's bed. "Letter to your mother…" He mused, picking up the envelope. "Do you want me to mail it for you?"

"Uh… yeah. Thanks." Reid said. "It's kind of hard to explain why she didn't get a letter from me for two weeks."

"… She did get letters." Gideon said, smiling. "We've been writing to her." Reid blinked.

"… We?" He asked.

"Gideon and me." Garcia said. "We told your mom you were out in the field and couldn't write her."

"Oh…" Reid said, not quite sure what to make of this.

"Gideon. Reid won't eat." Morgan tattled, suddenly.

"Hey!" Reid cried.

"He'll eat when he's ready." Gideon said with a shrug. "Besides. Hospital food is lousy."

"Toldja." Reid snorted, and Gideon smiled, shaking his head and pulling Morgan aside.

"It's something he's going to have to get over." Gideon told Morgan. "Refusing to eat is just one phase he's going to go through. We will step in if his health is threatened, but missing a few meals is not enough for concern." Morgan sighed, nodding.

"Alright, alright. I get it… give the kid a break." He said.

"Yeah." Gideon said with a smile. "Give the kid a break."

And the next morning, Reid found himself dressing in his own clothes that Garcia had brought him from his apartment; jeans, sneakers and an FBI hoodie. Walking was uncomfortable, Morgan helped Reid outside to Hotch's car. Hotchner smiled.

"Ready to go home, Reid?" He asked from the driver's seat.

"Totally." Reid said enthusiastically, sliding into the passenger seat. Morgan moved into the back seat, reaching over the seat and flipping some of Reid's hair into his face. Reid smiled in amused annoyance, glancing back and Morgan and smoothing his hair back behind his ear.

"Take care of yourself, kiddo." Garcia said, leaning in through the window and kissing Reid's cheek. "I'll be over tonight."

"What?"

"I'm gonna bring you some home made cookies."

"… What?"

"Say goodbye, Reid." Hotchner said, smirking slightly.

"Goodbye, Reid." Reid grumbled as Hotch pulled away from the curb. Morgan just laughed. The drive to Reid's apartment was uneventful, other than Reid's near tantrum when Hotchner didn't want to pull over for fast food. Between Reid's whining and Morgan telling Hotch that Reid had hardly eaten a thing in the past two days, Hotch gave in and bought Reid a super sized meal including burger, fries and milk shake (after Reid glared at Morgan when the man offered to buy him a Happy Meal).

Finally, they got to Reid's apartment. Climbing the stairs was slow going; Reid was still stiff and achy. Morgan went up behind him, if only to catch him if he fell. They reached the second floor and went to the door. Morgan unlocked it and the three men walked in. Reid turned on the light and sighed. He looked around, a look of relief on his face. But a moment later, it disappeared. There was a look of confusion on his face, then a sad realization followed by depression.

"Reid?" Morgan asked, frowning.

"I… I thought I would feel better once I was home." He said, softly. He looked at Morgan and Hotch. "But… I don't. This place doesn't feel like… home."

"Your safety was violated." Hotchner said, placing a hand on Reid's shoulder. "You were abducted from your own home. You have to reclaim it before you can feel safe here again."

"Until you do, I'll stay with you." Morgan said. Reid nodded, slowly.

"I'm uh… I'm gonna grab a shower. Help yourself to anything." He said, waving a hand at the kitchen as he passed. Hotch looked at Morgan, who just sighed and shook his head, going into the kitchen and rummaging through the fridge, pantry and cabinets… Hotchner looked over the bookcase.

"Hey Hotch?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna look around. They got into his apartment before, they may have done it again."

"Okay." Hotch said, watching Morgan go down the hall and into Reid's bedroom. He could hear him poking around.

"HOTCH!" Hotch turned at the shout, walking into the bedroom. Morgan was lying on the floor by the bed, looking under it. "We need to evacuate this building and get the bomb squad…" Hotch stared at Morgan.

"Are you serious? Dammit…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I'll evacuate the building, you call the bomb squad. And be calm. Don't scare Reid." And he ran from the room. Morgan stood up and moved out into the living room, dialing on his phone.

"… This is SSA Derrek Morgan with the FBI. I need a bomb squad at the apartment of one of our Agents." He gave the address, absently listening to Hotch banging on doors, shouting "FBI!" and telling people to grab their kids and pets and get out, that there was a bomb in the building. Finally, he came back in.

"Reid still in the shower?" He asked.

"Yeah. It looks like one of those… lever bomb things. Like the ones that kid put in the cars in that serial bomber case." Morgan said. "Reid would have gone to bed and been blown up the moment he went to get OUT of bed." Hotch sighed and looked up. The shower stopped and the door opened. Reid walked out in a towel.

"Reid, Morgan and I were talking, and I think it would be best for you to stay with one of us until you get an alarm and new locks." Hotchner said, calmly. Reid blinked and nodded, wiping water from his face.

"Uh. Yeah. Sure." He said. "I uh… I'll go get dressed."

"Reid." Morgan said. "… Stay away from the bed." Reid blinked and slowly looked at his door, then back at Morgan, eyes wide and scared. He nodded, then slowly walked to the door of his bedroom. He froze and stared in, eyes wide. His body tensed.

"… Hello Dr. Reid. Please come in." Came a voice. Morgan and Hotchner glanced at each other, then ran to the room, pulling their guns. They looked in, flanking Reid. A young man was smiling at them, sitting on the bed…

He was pointing a gun at Reid. "Well? Are you just going to stand there? Or shall I stand and come to you?" He was balanced precariously on the edge of the bed. It was taking conscious effort to stay there… if they shot him, he would fall… and the bomb would go off. Slowly, Reid stepped into the room.

"Get dressed." The young man said.

"You're Neil." Reid said, softly.

"… And you killed my brother." Neil said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes…" Reid confirmed. "I did." He opened his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and… you guessed it, another FBI t shirt. He dropped the towel and pulled them on, followed by a pair of socks. He took his sneakers out of the closet.

"Do you think you're going somewhere, Dr. Reid?" Neil asked, cocking his head.

"… To stay with a friend." Reid said, calmly.

"I don't think so. Come. Sit with me. Let's talk."

"… No." Reid said. "You don't have to do this, Neil."

"Just wait." Morgan said. "We have a bomb squad on the way, they can take care of this bomb. No one has to get hurt."

"… You killed Graham." Neil hissed, eyes flashing. Reid's eyes widened and he backed away. "I'll kill you." And he raised the gun.

"RUN!!!" Reid shouted, bolting for the door. He crashed into Morgan and Hotchner, and all three tumbled to the floor of the hall as gun shots cracked through the air. They scrambled towards the door. But moments later, an explosion ripped through the apartment. All three flew across the living room, courtesy of the shock wave. Then it was all heat and noise…


	12. Chapter 12

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

"Oh God…" Emily groaned when the SUV pulled up in front of the apartment complex. JJ was driving, Elle, Gideon and Garcia were in the back seat.

"That's Reid's apartment…" Garcia gasped, staring at the flames that had engulfed the place. "Oh my… Morgan!!" She scrambled out of the car and ran to the man who was walking towards them. He had a few little band-aids on, and his shirt was singed in places, but he opened his arms and caught Garcia, holding her tight. The rest of the team ran to him.

"We're okay." Morgan assured them before anyone could say anything. "A few cuts and scrapes, nothing bad. Hotch is the worst out of us. He managed to shield Reid when the blast went off. They're in the ambulance over there." The team walked over and looked in. Hotch was sitting on the gurney. His shirt was off and an EMT was cleaning the cuts on his back. Hotch was facing Reid, holding his hands and talking to him. Reid was wide eyed and pale, shaking.

"Where's Reid going to go now?" Elle asked.

"I think he's gonna stay with Hotch." Morgan said, kissing the top of Garcia's head. "Since he has that whole house to himself."

"Well… I have room, too." JJ said.

"So do I." Morgan added, nodding.

"And me." Emily said.

"I have a nice sofa." Garcia chimed in. "Morgan says it's comfy." Gideon and Elle smiled at each other, amused.

"I think we should ALL let him stay." Morgan said. "Have him stay with someone different every night… Ryan is going to be hunting him. I'll run it by Hotch."

They watched as Hotch and Reid finally climbed out of the ambulance. They walked over to the team, Reid with his arms crossed over his abdomen in a defensive stance.

"Reid! Are you okay?" Emily gasped, hurrying over to him and hugging him.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Reid said, hugging her back. Slowly, he turned and looked up at the burning building that the firemen were working on. He sighed. "… Now what?"

"You're going to stay with us until we get Ryan and get you a new place." Morgan said, wrapping an arm around Reid and guiding him to the car. The group piled into the vehicles.

"Where are we going now?" Reid asked.

"To the BAU." Hotch said. "You'll stay there when we're there, and with me at night."

"I think we should switch, Hotch." Morgan said. "Make it harder for Ryan to find him."

"… We'll discuss it when we get to the BAU." Hotch said. "But that sounds like a good idea."

Before Reid knew it, he was walking into the BAU with the team. Everyone in the office greeted him with a smile, welcoming him back and wishing him well… and teasing him about walking around in pajamas and mismatching socks.

The first thing Reid did was make himself some coffee, using the BIGGEST mug he could find, and annoying Garcia in the process.

"If I weren't so relieved that you're alive and well, I would kill you." She told him when she saw him dumping an obscene amount of sugar into HER mug.

"Love you." Reid said, smiling over the mug.

"Agent Reid." He turned and his smile vanished.

"… Um… Section Chief Strauss." He said, eyes wide, and he lowered the bright pink and purple mug. She looked him up and down, eyes lingering on his socks, one patterned with pumpkins and bats, and the other with trees and moose.

"It's good to see you back… you… aren't working, right?"

"Um… no ma'am." Reid said, shaking his head.

"Then… what ARE you doing here?"

"… They're babysitting me." Reid mumbled.

"excuse me?"

"Ma'am." Both turned when Hotch walked over. Reid shot him a grateful look. "If you would come to my office, please? I was about to let you know what just happened." The woman blinked at Reid, but nodded and followed Hotch into his office. Reid turned and watched them. Hotch spoke for a bit, and then Strauss' eyes widened, and Reid read her lips easily.

"WHAT?!" Hotch guided her over to the chairs and they sat down, talking. They were in there for a long time. A moment later, Hotch walked out.

"Reid? Would you step in here please?" He called. Reid blinked, then nodded and shuffled across the bull pen and up the stairs, following Hotch into his office.

"Agent Reid." Stauss said. "Until Ryan Vanderwal is in custody, I want to move you to a safe house with a protective detail round the clock."

"With all due respect, ma'am…" Reid said, slowly. "I would feel better staying with the team."

"This isn't about you feeling better… not that I don't take it into consideration, but… it would be safer."

"I understand that." Reid said. "But… I would rather stay with the team. I feel safe with them."

"… Your apartment was just blown up, Agent Reid."

"I know…" Reid sighed, rubbing his face. "I know. But… I want to stay with the team."

"I want you in protective custody, Agent Reid."

"… I uh… With all due respect, I um… I decline." Reid said. She stared at him. "Please." Reid added, softly. She still didn't answer. Reid thought a moment, then sighed. "I will go to a safe house at night, but I want to be here with the team during the day. And… I want one of them to come with me at night."

"… You really want to stay with them that much?"

"… I feel safe with them. They know me better than anyone, and we work best when we're together. I don't think anyone could protect me better than they can." Reid argued. Strauss stared at him for a long time.

"It would be irresponsible for me to allow it." She said.

"… Please?"

"Ma'am. I think we can handle it." Hotchner said. "I will personally take responsibility for his safety." Strauss sighed.

"… Alright." She said with a nod, and looked at Reid. "I'm doing this against my better judgment…"

"Thank you, Ma'am." Reid said with a smile and nod.

"Agent Reid, I do not want to see you working until the doctors have approved your returning to active duty. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"And… don't worry about your home. The Bureau will help you get yourself established."

"I appreciate that, but I had a pretty good renter's insurance policy, I'll be okay."

"… Just let me know if you need anything." Strauss said, turning and walking away. Reid waited until she was out of earshot, then turned to Hotch.

"… It's like she's the wicked step mother… who just married my father and is trying to get into my good graces…" Reid said, making a confused face. Hotch blinked, then chuckled, shaking his head.

"Go finish your coffee…" He said, giving Reid a little shove towards the door.

"Yes dad."

"Reid. What did I say in the hospital?"

"… You said I couldn't call you 'daddy'." Reid said, and ducked out of the room at Hotchner's warning look. Hotch watched Reid hurry across the office, then smiled and shook his head, going to his desk.

* * *

Rossi walked out of his office. "Alright, people. I'm out." He said, glancing at the team, then stopped. The women were gathered around Reid, staring at his desk. "What are you doing?" He called.

"Ignore them." Morgan called. "And watch your head. Reid is doing his "physics magic" again…" He said, and picked up a file folder, holding it right over his head. A moment later, there was a POP and a black object hurtle through the air and whizzed past Rossi seven feet away, bouncing off of Hotchner's office window. The man glanced up, blinking at the giggling women and the look on Reid's face, horrified, but trying not to laugh. He turned his chair to face away from them and continued his phone conversation. Rossi picked up the black plastic film canister.

"Physics Magic?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Reid.

"I uh… yyyyeah." Reid said, giving Rossi a sheepish smile. Rossi tossed him the canister.

"… Show me." Rossi said, walking over.

"turn around." The girls all said in unison, turning their backs on Reid. Rossi blinked, and Garcia jerked him around too. He heard Reid fumbling around.

"Okay!" Reid called, and they all turned back around. Rossi blinked, watching the upside down canister. They stood there for a while. After a bit, Morgan picked up the folder and held it over his head again with a sigh.

Hotch walked out of his office, and there was a loud POP! Hotch's eyes widened and he ducked. The canister sailed over his head and bounced across his office. The group stared, eyes wide.

"Dammit, Reid!"

"… Sorry!" Reid yelped, eyes wide in horror. Hotch stared him down, then sighed and shook his head.

"You've got the distance down, let's try to work on accuracy, huh?"

"… yessir." Reid said, nodding quickly.

"… I'm assigning you Morgan as your target."

"WHAT?! Come on, Hotch!" Morgan yelped, and the girls snickered. Hotch met Rossi's amused look.

"Reid." Hotch said.

"Sir?"

"Let's go. You're spending the night and my house tonight."

"Oh. Right." Reid said, standing and grabbing his leather messenger bag, slinging it over his shoulder and running fingers over a small scorch mark. It was the one thing he had saved from his apartment.

"Um… Hotch?" Reid called, following him. "I uh… I need to get some clothes."

"It's been taken care of. We were able to salvage some clothes from your apartment, they're being washed."

"… Who got them?" Reid asked, blinking.

"Rossi."

"Who's washing them?"

"… Haley."

"Your ex?"

"She offered. Wanted to help."

"Wow. Awkward."

"Why?" Hotch asked.

"… My uh, my boss's ex wife is washing my underwear." Reid said. Behind him, Morgan choked on his drink, and the girls burst out laughing. Hotch stared at Reid for a moment.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah." Reid said, and hurried after him.

"And yes, your boss's ex wife is washing your underwear." Reid blinked, then sighed and looked down at his feet, appropriately embarrassed. "We're going to stop by her place to pick up your clothes." Hotch said, smiling, and they got into the elevator.

* * *

Haley opened the door, and smiled.

"Hi Aaron. Dr. Reid, how are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm okay." Reid said with a shrug.

"Hi Haley. Thanks for doing this again."

"Yeah. I really appreciate it." Reid said, nodding vehemently. She smiled at Reid.

"Anything I can do to help." She said. "Your clothes are in this basket." She said, gesturing to the laundry basket on the floor in the doorway to the living room. "Aaron can bring the basket back later. No hurry. Aaron. Jack has been waiting for you." Hotch blinked, then smiled and nodded.

"I'll be right back, Reid." He said, and ran up the stairs. Haley smiled and closed the door after Reid.

"It's good to see you're okay." She said.

"For the most part, yeah." Reid said with a nod.

"… You don't have shoes."

"Ahhh… no. No I don't." Reid said, self consciously wiggling his toes in his socks. She smiled.

"What size?" She asked.

"None of your business!" Reid cried, grinning. "I am NOT letting you buy me shoes!"

"… Let me at least get you something to drink. Aaron may be a few minutes."

"I'm fine, thanks." Reid said, looking down at the laundry basket, wondering what was left. Damn… she really HAD washed his underwear… THAT was awkward.

"Reid." He turned and looked at Hotch. "Ready?"

"that was quick…" Reid said.

"No offense Reid, but you're the target. I don't really want you around Jack and Haley." Hotch said. Reid blinked, then nodded, offering him a small smile.

"I understand. I'd never forgive myself is someone was hurt because of me." He looked at Haley. "Thanks."

"No problem, Dr. Reid." She said. Reid shook his head, picking up the laundry basket, happily noting the presence of a few of his favorite socks.

"You… don't have to call me Doctor. Just Reid is fine. Or… I dunno… Spencer." He offered. She smiled and nodded.

"… I think I like Spencer. Reid is what you're called on the job." She said. Reid smiled and nodded. "Alright then. You're welcome, Spencer."

"Goodnight, Haley." Hotch said, and guided Reid out of the house.

"Aaron." He turned and looked back. "Make sure you buy Spencer some shoes." Hotch blinked, then grinned at Reid's groan.

"Promise." He said, nodding to her. He and Reid climbed into the car.

"… I'm hungry." Reid announced. Hotch rolled his eyes.

"You're always hungry."

"… Can we pick up something for dinner?" Reid asked. "Ooh! Let's order out for Chinese!"

"On one condition… You use chopsticks." Hotch said, smirking at the look on Reid's face, and pulled away from the curb.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reid walked into the kitchen of Hotchner's house, a towel draped around his neck as he rubbed his hair dry.

"Something smells good." Reid said. Hotch turned and smiled at him.

"I ordered Chinese."

"… Do I have to use chopsticks?" Reid asked, eyeing his boss.

"No. But if you don't, I get your egg roll." Hotch threatened.

"Aw, man…" Reid pouted. The pair sat down at the table with their chopsticks and take out containers. Hotch watched Reid for a bit, then just laughed. Reid looked at him, frowning.

"Here." He said. "Place the tops together here between the finger and thumb. Wedge the bottom one between the bottom joint of the thumb and the tip of the middle finger. This one doesn't move." He explained, demonstrating this to Reid. Reid blinked and mimicked the positioning of the first stick in his hand.

"The second one you hold here between the tip of the index finger, and curling your thumb over it to hold it in place. This one you move with you index finger." Hotch continued, and picked up a mushroom. "Hold them firmly." Reid watched him and studied his movements with the chopsticks, then tried it himself.

"Hey! That's a lot easier!" He cried, grinning and picking up a piece of bamboo shoot, popping it into his mouth. Hotch watched Reid, amused. But the kid seemed to be getting the hang of it.

"Tell me something, Reid."

"Hm?"

"… Do all of your pajamas consist of FBI t shirts?"

"… I have one from Morgan…" Reid said. "It says 'Playstation' and has an arrow pointing down." Hotchner did a double take, then shook his head. "Yeah. I only wore it once. Because I didn't have anything else. I think I lost it in the fire though…"

"Thank God for small favors…" Hotch snorted, and Reid smiled.

"But yes. All of my pajamas are FBI t shirts."

"… You know… Emily and JJ want to take you shopping. I think I might let them."

"Aw, come on, Hotch."

"Would you rather go shopping with Morgan and Garcia?"

"… I'd rather go shopping alone."

"Not gonna happen."

"I know, I know… not as long as Ryan Vanderwal is out there." Reid grumbled.

"Reid." Hotch said, staring at him. "I want you to have your gun on you at all times." Reid looked up at him and nodded. "I want all blinds, shades and curtains drawn wherever you are. And even then, I want you to try and avoid windows and stay in interior rooms." Reid sighed, putting the chopsticks down.

"I know, Hotch." Reid groaned.

"Alright then." Hotch said, standing. "You look tired. Go get some sleep."

"Let me help you clean up."

"… Look. I put the food in the fridge. Done." Hotch said. Reid snorted.

"Got an extra toothbrush?" He asked.

"Sure. Come on." Hotch said. He walked up the stairs, Reid following him all the way into the master bath. Hotch opened the closet and pulled out a toothbrush, still in a box, and a tube of tooth paste. "Here."

"Thanks." Reid said, nodding.

"Sleep well, Reid." Hotch said, and Reid nodded and left the room. Hotch showered, went downstairs and cleaned the kitchen, then went back upstairs. He softly padded down the hall and stopped at the guest room. Silently, he opened the door and peered in.

Reid was sleeping peacefully, lying on his back with one hand curled by his face, and the other arm draped over his stomach. His shirt was riding up a bit under his arm, and Hotch could see Reid's injuries healing to scars.

Hotchner sighed. Somehow, sleeping like that, Reid looked so young… Hotch felt a stab of guilt… how could he have brought the youth into this job? He had been through so much… and he was just a kid. In that moment, Hotchner wished that Reid had been able to have a normal childhood… be a normal kid with a normal life… He would have just finished college if he had been normal… looking for his place in the world… trying to decide what to do with his life, where to go… maybe he would have met the woman he would spend his life with… be ready to have kids…

But instead, he was sleeping with a gun by his bed, in his superior's house because his own home had been blown up by the youngest of a psychotic trio of brothers. He had been tortured by the middle brother, and raped by the eldest. He had killed men, and watched people die… women and children… innocents… He had been addicted to a narcotic painkiller which nearly destroyed him and his career… Now he was being hunted by the one remaining brother who wanted to hurt him, and kill him.

And yet, he stood strong. When Graham had come for him and hurt him a second time, he had kept a level head. He had done his job, and saved Hotchner's life in the process. The same thing in his bedroom in the confrontation with Neil… And Hotch knew that Reid would stand strong when they had their showdown with Ryan…

He couldn't deny that the youngest member of their team brought out something paternal in him. He was protective of Reid… and he was proud of him.

Hotchner closed the door, and went to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

"Morning everyone." Hotchner said, walking into the BAU. Reid followed.

"Morning." He said, grinning. "We brought donuts!"

"Hmph… 'We' as in Reid whined and I paid." Hotch said, smirking and heading up to his office.

"So… how was the slumber party, ladies?" Morgan asked.

"Hotch taught me how to use chopsticks!" Reid announced, nodding proudly.

"Awww… That is so SWEET!" Emily laughed.

"Hotch! You should be a Boy Scout Troop Leader!" Morgan called.

"That's enough, please." Hotch said, walking into his office and closing the door. Morgan, Prentiss and Reid all snickered.

"Morning, all." Garcia sang, walking in. "So. Reid." And she sat down on his desk. "Tell us all about it."

"… About what?" Reid asked.

"What's it like, home with Aaron Hotchner?"

"… Uneventful." Reid said. Garcia visually drooped.

"… Nothing interesting?"

"Nothing." Reid assured her.

"Well… there goes my entertainment for the morning." Garcia pouted, and went to her office. Reid blinked after her, then shrugged and leaned back in his chair, pulling a book out of his bag and beginning to read. He didn't pay attention when JJ walked into Hotch's office.

"Hotch…" JJ said.

"Yes?"

"We uh… it's been almost three weeks since we got this case."

"Yes?"

"… There's been no sign of Vanderwal since we raided the bunker and got Reid back. Strauss wants us to wrap up the case and move on to others asap. And… I have a mountain in my office that's not getting any smaller."

"… We can't rush a case, JJ."

"Well… then maybe we should put it on hold."

"… Put it on hold?!" Hotchner echoed.

"We're needed, Hotch. We have requests for help from all over the country. We can't keep chasing Vanderwal unless we're convinced that he's not done."

"He's not! Reid is here. Alive. He's not done."

"And if we take a case and take Reid with us, he'll be out of Vanderwal's reach." JJ pointed out. Hotchner leaned back and sighed.

"How much pressure are they putting on you, JJ?"

"Not much. Yet." She said.

"… Alright. Let's give it a few more days. It's Wednesday. We'll take a case on Monday."

"… Okay." JJ said, nodding, and left his office. Hotch sighed and left a moment later, walking across the bullpen and into Garcia's office.

"… Kevin."

"Oh!" The man jumped back from where he had been rubbing Garcia's shoulders.

"… Now is not the time. I need Garcia working on this case."

"She has been." Kevin said, nodding. "She's trying to track this Vanderwal guy. She's overworking herself, I… I'm just trying to help." Hotch stared at Kevin, who fidgeted nervously.

"… Help." He repeated. "Define help."

"Well…" Kevin turned and picked up a stack of papers. "I looked this up for her. Every move he's made since he was born. She's been looking into details from since he first joined FBI training. I've been looking into everything before that. Finding places or things he might be linked to somehow. I was just bringing these up to her. And then I realized how tense she was, hence the uh… massage you walked in on."

"I see…" Hotch said, and flipped through the papers Kevin had handed him. Then, he looked up at the man, a strange look on his face. "… Good work." Kevin blinked. "Thank you." Kevin blinked again, then grinned, proudly.

"You're very welcome, SSA Hotchner. Anything I can do to help."

"… why?" Hotch asked. "You're not part of this team."

"… This team is Penelope's family. If a member of her family is in danger, I… I wanna help…" Kevin explained. Hotch stared at him a moment, then nodded.

"I appreciate that, Kevin. Just don't neglect your own job."

"I won't sir. Thank you."

"Sir." Garcia said. "There's an old apartment building that's scheduled for demolition." She said. "… One of the apartments was once rented by Neil Vanderwal."

"… Okay. We'll check it out." Hotch said, then turned and left. "Rossi! Morgan! Prentiss! With me. No Reid, you stay here."

"But—"

"You have NOT been approved to return to work." Hotch said, firmly. "And you are under our protection. You will stay HERE." And he led the others out.

* * *

Morgan sighed as they looked around the old apartment.

"… Well… Someone was here. Recently."

"… Newspaper is only three days old." Rossi said, picking up a newspaper from beside and old mattress on the floor.

"Here." Hotch called from in the kitchen. The others walked in.

"… I guess this is where Neil was staying." Prentiss said, looking over all the bits of plastic, metal and wires… the remains of the bomb that Neil had built.

"… So were Graham and Ryan with him?" Rossi wondered aloud. They searched the apartment, but they found nothing useful. Ryan wasn't there. They didn't know if he ever WAS there. Disappointed, they returned to the BAU with minimal physical evidence of anything useful… When they got back, JJ hurried up to them.

"You need to get to the crime scene right away." She said, handing them an address. "I think you should see this." And so they headed out again.

They ended up only eight miles away. It was a simple apartment complex. They were led to the third floor. In the living room lay a young man. The team was struck immediately by his physical resemblance to Reid… He had been stabbed several times. And knife was still in him, pinning a note to his chest. Rossi knelt and looked at it.

"It's from Ryan." He said. "He's going to keep killing look-a-likes until he gets his real target."

"… Don't tell Reid." Hotchner sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hotch." Morgan said, raising his eyebrows. "We can't keep this from him."

"He'll blame himself." Hotch pointed out.

"… I know. But what will upset him more? Knowing now, or finding out later and knowing that we withheld it from him?" Morgan argued.

"… I'll tell him." Rossi said. "I'll go back now and tell him before he finds out from Garcia." Hotch nodded.

"We'll meet you back at the BAU." He said. Rossi drove back to Quantico, and walked right up to Reid.

"… Reid. Step into my office." He said. Reid blinked up at him.

"… What's wrong?" Reid asked. Rossi just turned and walk to his office. Reid blinked and followed, shuffling along in his new sneakers that Hotch had made him get on the way into the office. Rossi closed the door after him.

"… There was a murder." Rossi said. "Ryan claimed responsibility."

"… Who was it?" Reid asked.

"A young man about your age. He looked a lot like you." Rossi said, and Reid blinked. "Ryan left a note. He says he won't stop until he gets what he wants."

"What?!" Reid gasped, eyes wide in shock.

"He's going to kill look-a-likes until he kills you." Rossi explained. Slowly, Reid dropped into a chair, color draining from his face.

"We… We have to stop him!" Reid gasped.

"We're trying, Reid." Rossi said, squeezing Reid's shoulder.

"… Set a trap!" Reid cried, jumping to his feet. "I'll be the bait!"

"No." Rossi said. "We can't put your life at risk."

"Is my life any more important that the lives of the people he's gonna kill?!" Reid shouted.

"Reid, our job is to protect you right now. Just like any other victim."

"… Just like any other victim." Reid repeated, his tone hard and cold.

"… I… I didn't mean it like that." Rossi said, trying to calm Reid down.

"Then how DID you mean it?!" Reid demanded, beginning to shake in anger and frustration. Rossi stared at him, and sighed. Reid stared at him, then turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Rossi watched him go over to his desk. He picked up his messenger bag and headed for the door. Rossi blinked and opened the door to his office.

"Reid. Reid!" Reid ignored him, storming out of the BAU. Rossi took off after him. But by the time he got to the elevators, the doors had closed. Rossi cursed, hitting the button to get the other elevator. He rode it down to the lobby, but when he got there, Reid was nowhere in sight.

"Dammit!" He spat, and pulled out his cell. "… Hotch. I messed up. Reid took off."

* * *

"Has Garcia found anything?" Hotchner asked the moment he walked in.

"No. Aaron, I'm sorry."

"No. It's not your fault." Hotch told Rossi.

"All I can tell you is that Reid left on foot, heading in the direction he always does when he's heading home." Garcia said.

"… I'll check his apartment." Morgan said, turning and running back out the door.

"… I'll call the hospital where that Nathan kid is, see if Reid went to visit." JJ advised.

"I'm going to call Elle and Gideon." Hotch said. "Garcia, track Reid's phone."

"He turned it off." Garcia sighed. "He knows we would try to track him with it. He's… playing rebellious teenager."

"He's not a teenager."

"… He's young and upset." Garcia said with a shrug.

"… Keep trying, Garcia." Hotch said, and went to his office, dialing up Gideon.

* * *

Morgan pulled over in front of Reid's burned out apartment. He got out of the car and ducked under the crime scene tape, walking up the stairs. He sighed, putting on a pair of latex gloves and pushing the door open, carefully stepping in.

"Reid?" He called. There was no answer. He walked into the remains of the living room. "… Reid?" He turned at a shuffling noise. It was coming from Reid's room…

"Reid?" Morgan called again, and walked down the hall.

"Hello Derek." Morgan's eyes widened and he threw himself to the floor as a gunshot cracked through the air from behind him. He rolled, pulling his own gun and turned, just in time to see the front door of the apartment slam shut. Morgan blinked, then scrambled to his feet and ran.

"RYAN VANDERWAL!" He shouted. "STOP!!!" He ran out front just in time to see a car screeching away from the curb. He leapt into the SUV and took off after, pulling out his phone.

"This is Special Agent Derek Morgan with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI! I am in pursuit of a murder suspect and I need back up! He's in a silver Chrysler Sebring, four door, license plate number V23-KSY! We're heading north on Foxglove, just crossed Yew Bend!"

* * *

"Aaron." Rossi said, poking his head into Hotch's office. "Morgan is in a high speed pursuit with Ryan Vanderwal. He found him at Reid's apartment."

"Any sign of Reid?"

"No." Rossi said, and the pair hurried to Garcia's office.

"Garcia, you have Morgan on the line?"

"Yes."

"Morgan!"

"Kinda busy, Hotch!" Morgan announced.

"What happened?!"

"Son of a bitch tried to shoot me!" Morgan said. "He was hiding in Reid's kitchen."

"Was Reid there?"

"I didn't see him. But I'll bet that Ryan was waiting for him." Morgan said.

"Be careful, Morgan."

"I ain't letting this guy go, Hotch. He heard me calling for Reid. He knows that Reid isn't with us now. Let me handle Ryan. YOU find Reid. If Ryan gets away, we have to make sure we get to Reid first."

"I'm on it." Garcia said.

* * *

Reid sighed, staring across the park. He had never been there before. He had left the BAU and just… walked. His feet hurt. He wasn't sure how far he had gone… hell, he wasn't sure WHERE he was. He watched children on the playground, their mothers watching. Would any of those children fall victim to murder one day? Would they lose their mother some day to a killer? He turned and looked at older gentlemen playing chess… beyond them, teenage boys playing basketball… some others skateboarding. A pair of women talking as they power walked around the park. Kids feeding the ducks in the pond. A cop car passed, the officer in the passenger seat watching the kids on the skateboards and on the basketball court… Reid sighed, and turning and walking along the path… He left the park and continued to wander, not noticing the ache in his feet, nor in the rest of his body…

At one point, a group of teenage boys between fourteen and seventeen moved towards him as he walked absently down the alley. He paused and raised his eyes, looking around at them.

"Hey there, Toothpick." The eldest said. Reid placed his age at about twenty. "Whatcha got in the bag?"

Reid blinked. "… Papers." He said.

"What kind of papers?"

"… Crime scene photos. Evidence." The boys blinked and glanced around at each other.

"… They only follow you because you're older than them." Reid said, suddenly. "And because you picked them. Because you know they could be easily intimidated and manipulated. And you keep them scared of you, because once they realize what a complete failure you are, they'll ditch you. Or turn on you. You belittle them, and make them believe that without you, they're nothing. You don't want them to realize their full potential, because once they do they'll leave you. They'll go on to bigger and better things. They could become successful and happy. And you'll be stuck right here where you are. Roughing up people in alleys. Because you're too scared to try and be better than that."

"… Who the hell do you think you are?!" The boy snapped, moving in on Reid. He pulled a gun and pointed it at him.

"… I'm not afraid of your gun." Reid said, and slowly pulled up the hem of his shirt. The boy stared at the healing wounds. "I've been through worse."

"This one might finish you off." The boy sneered.

"Killing me will only finish you off." Reid said. "My team will find you. And you'll go away for life in Federal Prison."

"… Federal Prison? Team?"

"And all these kids will go away as accomplices to murder." Reid said, and turned to look at the youngest. "… Do you really want that?" The boy stared at him, eyes wide.

"… I ain't got nuthin' goin' for me." He snorted. "My mom's just a drunk. Ain't got a father."

"You think that's true?" Reid said, smiling slightly and shaking his head. "You choose what you have going for you."

"What the hell would you know? You look like a politician's kid. Private school… Getting into a good college because your parents pulled some strings and called in favors…" Another boy snorted. Reid just smiled and pushed his hands into his pockets.

He looked up at the teenagers surrounding him.

"I'm not that different from you. My dad left when I was ten. My mother is schizophrenic. We didn't have a ton of money. I went to public schools. But now look at me."

"… What ARE you?" Another boy scoffed. "Messenger boy?" Reid snorted slightly and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open.

"FBI." He said, and all eyes widened. He looked at the leader. "Like I said. Hurt me, and my team will hunt you down and you'll go to Federal Prison. And you kids remember; Follow a guy like him, and you'll end up like him. Go home. You are only as good as you make yourself." The kids looked around at each other, then scattered silently. Their leader stared at Reid. Reid stared at him and slowly approached him. He stared up into the kid's dark brown eyes.

"The same goes for you." He said, softly. "Do you have a record?"

The boy smirked. "I've never been caught."

"… Then stop now." Reid said. "Before you do. It's not too late. But the moment you get caught, so many doors close…" The kid stared at him, frowning slightly.

"You really FBI?" The kid asked. Reid smiled and nodded, and let him see his badge and credentials. "How old are you?"

"Not that much older than you are." Reid said, then pulled out his card and offered it to the boy. "If you ever have any questions… just give me a call. You never know. Maybe I can help." And he stepped around the kid and walked away. The kid stared after him, then slowly looked down at the gun in one hand, and Reid's card in the other.

Reid smiled to himself when he heard the clatter of the gun being tossed into a dumpster. He emerged out of the alley and onto the street. He looked up and down, then moved up the street and stepped into a coffee shop/internet cafe, glancing at the address. He ordered a large coffee, filled it with sugar, then sat as far from the windows as he could. Then he pulled out his phone and turned it on, dialing.

"Reid!" Was the angry sounding answer.

"Hey Hotch." Reid said, softly. "I… I'm sorry. I'm in a coffee shop at 6th and Commerce. I'll stay here until someone comes to get me. And… I promise I won't run off like this again." Hotch paused for a long time, considering Reid's words, then sighed.

"Alright, Reid. I'm coming to get you. And Reid… Morgan found Ryan."

"What?!"

"He chased him. But he got away. Be careful; he knows you're out there alone."

"He knows? Sir… I'm out in the open… I have to get out of here!"

"… Is there someplace safe you can go?" Hotch asked. Reid moved to an empty computer and MapQuested the café.

"… There's a precinct two blocks from here. I'll head there." Reid said.

"Okay. Be careful." Hotch said. "I'll be there in… twenty minutes."

"Okay." Reid said, and hung up. He left the café and hurried down the street, letting his hair fall around his face to obscure his features. His walk to the precinct was uneventful, and Hotch was there exactly seventeen minutes later. He pulled up in front of the building and looked up as Reid hurried down the steps, around the car and slid into the passenger seat. He fastened his seatbelt, and sipped his coffee. Hotch pulled away from the curb and they headed back to the BAU. Reid began to fidget five minutes into the drive.

"Hotch…"

Hotch glanced at him.

"… I'm sorry."

"You disobeyed a direct order."

"… I know."

"You left when I specifically told you not to. You know there's an ex-FBI Agent out there looking to kill you. And you left, alone without any backup or protection."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Reid." Hotch said, turning and giving Reid a stern look. "If you do this again, I'll have to go with what Strauss wanted. I'll send you to a safe house with round the clock supervision until we have Ryan Vanderwal in custody."

"Don't kid yourself Hotch." Reid said. Hotch looked at him sharply.

"… We won't get him in custody. I think you know this as well as I do. He's not going to let us take him alive. He's either going to kill me or die trying." Reid said. Hotch sighed.

"… You're right." He agreed. Reid nodded. "So… what were you doing?"

"Just… thinking. Walking…" Reid said, slowly. "I just kind of randomly ended up there…"

"Well, you made the team waste a day looking for you when they could have been working on Vanderwal."

"Hotch… I'm sorry."

"You'll be staying with Rossi tonight. Morgan tomorrow. Then Garcia, then Prentiss. Then Will and JJ."

"Yeah. Just watch. They'll go out on the town and I'll be babysitting."

"With the way YOU hold the baby, not likely." Hotch chuckled, and Reid gave him a look.


	14. Chapter 14

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

The next morning, Reid followed Rossi into the BAU.

"So… how was it?" Emily asked, grinning as Reid sat down.

"… Rossi snores like a freight train." Reid grumbled, and Morgan and Prentiss burst out laughing.

"I heard that." Rossi called over his shoulder as he went into his office. Reid groaned and folded his arms on his desk, letting his head drop onto them. Morgan grinned.

"Didn't sleep well, I take it?" He asked Reid, and Reid snorted.

"Not at all." He said, his voice muffled in his arms and desk. "And he makes lousy coffee." He stood and moved across the room to the kitchenette to make himself a cup of DECENT coffee.

Rossi walked out of his office and into Hotchner's.

"Aaron. I think we need to talk."

"… Of course. Sit down, Dave. What's wrong?" Hotch said, blinking.

"I've been thinking… Ryan Vanderwal is good. He used to be FBI. He knows how to cover his tracks. He's not going to make a mistake." Rossi said, leaning back and folding his hand before him. Hotch stared him in the eye. "… I think we're going to have to accept the possibility that we're not going to catch him unless it's during an attempt on Reid's life." Hotch stared at Rossi for a long time, then sighed and looked down.

"I think you're right." He said.

"Reid suggested something yesterday." Rossi continued. "He wants us to set a trap. And he wants us to use him as the bait."

* * *

"He wants us to WHAT?!" Morgan blurted as the team sat around the table. Reid was out in the bullpen. Hotch hadn't let him attend this meeting, using the excuse that Reid wasn't technically on duty yet.

"Reid wants us to use him as bait to set a trap for Ryan." Hotch said again. Morgan looked out at Reid, pouting at his desk in the bull pen and playing solitaire at… almost inhuman speeds.

"I think we should do it." Rossi said. "The fact is, we aren't going to catch this guy until he makes a move on Reid. And he will move on Reid. Better to have him make that move on our terms than on his."

"I don't like it." JJ said, shaking her head.

"Neither do I. But I think it's Reid's best chance." Hotch said.

"We have to get Ryan." Rossi said, frowning. "THEN Reid can heal. He's still having nightmares."

"He's gonna have them for a long time, whether we get Ryan or not." Morgan said. "Our boy seems prone to nightmares."

"… I've noticed that too…" JJ said.

"So are we in agreement?" Hotch asked.

"… Let's do it." Prentiss sighed.

Reid looked up when the team filed out of the office, staring at him.

"Reid." Hotch said. "You still up to set a trap for Vanderwal?" Reid stared at him, and gulped.

* * *

"JJ?" Hotch asked.

"The press knows what to do." She said with a nod. "They're announcing Neil Vanderwal as the bomber. They're naming him as the brother of the man who died when he assaulted an FBI Agent who was in the hospital. And as the brother of a former FBI Agent who was fired when he failed his psych eval. They know that they need to have the attention on their lead reporter, but that they need to have us in the background. Ryan will be watching. He'll see Reid drive away alone. They'll mention that one Agent, the one who was attacked, is going to the coroner's office to pick up some evidence that was found on the bodies. From there, we keep Reid under surveillance. And then… hope."

It all went smoothly. The news report talked about the case, showing a photo of Ryan Vanderwal and saying that he was wanted for the abduction and murder of a dozen victims and the abduction, assault and attempted murder of an FBI Agent. The team was seen in the background. Reid separated from the group, getting into a car and driving away. He was tailed by Hotch and Morgan. He got to the coroner's office. He lingered there for a couple of hours, waiting. Nothing. He called Hotch, and they agreed to head back to the BAU. But Reid didn't go inside. He stood out in the parking lot, talking to Hotch and Morgan.

"Do you think he's watching me?" Reid asked.

"By now, yes. He's waiting for an opening." Hotch said.

"Will he try to kill me right away? Or try to kidnap me again?"

"… I don't know." Hotch said.

"I'm going to go to my apartment. See if I can salvage any of my things." Reid said. "And… give him the opportunity to make a move."

"… Okay." Hotch said. "Be careful."

And so Reid went home. He walked into the remains of his apartment and looked around, sadly. He sighed and picked his way through the debris. He knelt and picked up a charred book, watching the blackened pages crumble to dust in his hands. He slowly stood and turned, walking across the room and kneeling again, picking up a framed photograph… his mother. He smiled slightly, brushing ash away from the glass. It was cracked, but other than that, it was relatively undamaged. He slid it into his messenger bag.

There was another photograph beside it. It was a picture that JJ had taken years ago. It was Hotch, Gideon and Reid himself. The three of them were sitting in a line on the jet, fast asleep. They were all in the exact same position; all had their heads leaning to the left, with case files in their laps, beginning to slip from their fingers. On the end was Morgan, looking down the line, grinning in amusement. Reid smiled, sliding that photo into his bag as well.

There was another one in his room. Reid went back to his bedroom to find it. It had been on the dresser, but now it was gone. He frowned and managed to move it slightly. There. He reached behind the dresser and picked it up. The glass was blackened and broken. Reid turned it over and removed the picture from the frame. It was slightly distorted from the heat of the explosion, but he could get another copy from JJ… she had taken that one, too. It was right after Reid had joined the team.

He was on the jet and had fallen asleep and slumped over to the side. He had ended up with his head on Gideon's shoulder. When his head had landed there, Gideon had turned and eyed him, before shoving him off. JJ had snapped the picture right before Gideon had shoved him… it was Morgan's favorite… Reid, asleep with his mouth open, leaning on Gideon, and Gideon with a very "what the fuck?!" look on his face, as Morgan had described it. Even Hotch had laughed when he saw THAT photo.

Reid spent almost two hours at his apartment, salvaging what he could… personal items… memories. He pulled down a shoebox from the top shelf of his closet. He smiled and opened it up. He laughed slightly at the picture on top… it was him at his high school graduation. Big front teeth, broad goofy smile, in a graduation cap and gown that was too big for him… He had been so proud that day. It seemed a lifetime away. Now he stood there, fifteen years later, in the charred remains of the life he had built for himself… Reid frowned and looked around. Books. Furniture. Walls. No. He was wrong. This was where he came to sleep at night. His life was the job. The BAU… it was the team.

Reid nodded to himself and turned to leave.

"Good evening, Dr. Reid." Reid gasped, slightly startled. But he calmed quickly.

"… Ryan."

"Let's go." Ryan said, holding the gun level on Reid.

"… Alright."

"Alright? Just like that?" Ryan asked, cocking his head.

"Just like that." Reid said. He slowly put down the shoe box, removed his messenger bag and his gun, laying them down on the remains of the sofa. "I'm not going to let anyone else die because of me."

"How noble. Move."

Reid obeyed, calmly walking down the stairs and over to the car Ryan indicated. He had ditched the Chrysler Sebring.

"You downgraded." Reid commented, looking over the old Impala.

"Give me your cell phone." Ryan commanded. Reid sighed and obeyed. Ryan looked at it, then tossed it aside. "Hands." Reid held out his hands and let Ryan cuff him. "Get in the trunk."

"No tazer?" Reid asked.

"Not this time. Get in." Ryan said, his voice getting impatient. Once again, Reid obeyed. Ryan slammed the trunk. Reid waited until the engine started, and the car began to move. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, glad that they had given him an old extra… and glad that Ryan had bought it. He hit speed dial.

"Speak, baby love." Reid blinked. Baby love? Whatever…

"Garcia. I'm with Ryan."

"… Oh my God!"

"Track me, okay?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. He hasn't hurt me. I'm in the trunk. He's driving a champagne Impala. License plate Z94-HJA. And remind the others… this is his End Game. Either I die, or he dies." Reid said.

"Oh, honey…" Garcia gasped.

"Are you tracking me?"

"I won't lose you, kiddo. The team is following at a safe distance."

"Okay. Thanks Garcia…" Reid said.

"Sure thing, Reid."

"And Garcia?"

"Yes?"

"… Stay with me?" Reid asked softly, and Garcia closed her eyes, heart clenching at the fear that finally appeared in Reid's voice.

"As long as you want me to, baby." She told him.

"Thanks…"

* * *

"Is everyone on track?" Hotch called over the radio.

"Garcia is talking to Reid." Morgan said. "I'm just behind you one block west."

"Rossi, where are you?!"

"One block east, as planned."

"Good. Prentiss?"

"I have swat behind me. We're about eight blocks behind you, Hotch."

"Good. I want everyone ready to move in a moments' notice."

* * *

"Garcia…"

"Yes Reid?"

"I have to go now… He's slowing down."

"… Oh… Okay Reid… please be careful…"

"I will. And… Thanks."

"… Good luck." She whispered, and Reid silently hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He heard a soft rumble of thunder, and the engine shut off. Reid took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily, sending up a small prayer for a good outcome.

The trunk opened and Ryan stared down at him.

"Let's go, Dr. Reid." He said. Reid sat up and slowly crawled out of the car.

"May I ask how you plan to do me in?" Reid asked.

"… And ruin the surprise? No. I don't think so."

"Where are we?" Reid asked, looking around.

"By the river." Ryan said. He looked at Reid. "You like the river." Reid nodded.

"I do." He looked at Ryan. "You're going to drown me."

"Maybe." Ryan said, and he and Reid stared at each other. "You killed my brothers."

"No." Reid said. "I killed Graham. Neil killed himself. He was hoping to take me with him, yes, but… he set off the bomb."

"It doesn't matter." Ryan said, walking over to Reid. The pair stood face to face. Eye to eye. They were the same height, but that's where the similarities ended. Reid was thin. Ryan was well built. Reid had chestnut hair and brown eyes. Ryan had blonde hair and gray eyes.

"You've taken everything from me, Dr. Reid." Ryan hissed. "My brothers… my career… my dream. You took my dream first." Reid shook his head.

"You never passed your psychiatric evaluation, Ryan." Reid said, gently. "You never could have joined the BAU. Even if I had never been there."

"… You lie." Ryan hissed. Reid blinked, then looked away. "This way." He turned and walked away from the car and down a slope into the brush. Reid sighed, and followed. He slipped and stumbled down the hill. A moment later, Ryan turned on a flashlight. He waited for Reid, then took his elbow and guided him along. There was a flash of lightning and thunder rolled over the riverbank. Reid blinked when they rounded a bend and found the river spread out before them.

"Shall I get in?" Reid asked, looking at Ryan.

"Not yet. Come over here." Reid blinked at Ryan, and followed him. They ended up under a tree. Reid looked up. There was a rope hanging from the branch of a tree. He grabbed Reid's hands and raised them above his head, tying the end of the rope around the chain of the handcuffs. Reid winced as sore muscles cried out in protest. But he made no sound, nor any resistance. He didn't even flinch when Ryan used a knife to cut his shirt off.

"Now what?" Reid asked.

"… Now you pay for what you've done." Ryan said. He walked over to the tree and picked up a golf club that looked like it had been stolen from a miniature golf park. "Forgive the… simple brutality. I didn't have time to arrange something more fitting." And he swung the club.

* * *

"I've got the car!" Hotch shouted into the radio, pulling over. Morgan and Rossi's cars screeched to a halt behind him. All three ran over, guns drawn. The trunk was open.

"They're gone…" Hotch said, looking around. "They have to be on foot!"

"Unless he switched cars." Rossi suggested.

"Guys… we're by the river." Morgan pointed out.

"Wait for SWAT." Hotch said. "We'll spread up and down the bank…"

"We need to hurry." Morgan said, looking up at the sky. A moment later, a light rain began to fall. They waited for SWAT to arrive with Prentiss.

"Where's Reid?!" She asked.

"I'm on it." Morgan said. "Garcia! I need you, baby girl. Where's our boy?" He said into his phone. He frowned, listening, then turned. "You sure? Okay. Thanks." He turned to the group. "He's that way. On the bank of the river." Morgan said. They started down the hill, but then, a shot rang out… They broke into a run.

* * *

Reid hung limp, blood running down his arms from where the handcuffs had cut into his wrists… again… like before… His body hurt… He was covered in freshly forming bruises from the golf club, and welts and cuts from the belt that Ryan had tossed onto the ground… He had whipped Reid with the belt for a bit, then turned it around and hit him with the buckle end of the belt as well. And through it all, Reid was silent, save for a few whimpers and soft sobs.

"Tell me, Dr. Reid…" Ryan gasped, panting with his exertion. "Did you really think I wouldn't know that your team has been following us…?" Slowly, Reid looked up at him, trying to focus. Ryan smirked, picking up the knife and slicing through the rope. Reid collapsed to the ground with a grunt. Ryan knelt, rummaging though the pockets of his jacket, which he had tossed onto the ground. A moment later, he stood and began fumbling with whatever it was he had. Reid stared at the jacket. Ryan had finally made a mistake…

He had copied so many UnSubs… Done the same things. And this was the opportunity that Reid had been waiting for… Just like with Charles Hankel, there in the pocket of the jacket, gleamed the gun… Reid reached out and took it, slipping it into his pocket. Rain began to fall, gently… Then, Ryan turned. He was holding a syringe. Reid stared at him as he knelt, picking up the belt and wrapping it around Reid's upper arm, tightly. Reid watched him, silently.

"What did Tobias say to you, Dr. Reid? Tell me it d—"

"Don't." Reid snapped, harshly. Ryan blinked, startled. "Don't you dare…" Reid hissed, eyes burning in anger. "I won't let you twist his words like that…"

"Ah yes… I forgot… Tobias was your savior…" Ryan snorted. "He gave you this…" And he slid the needle into Reid's vein, injecting the Dilaudid. Reid stared at Ryan for as long as he could, but soon he moaned, his head dropping to the ground. Ryan smirked, turning and moving over to his jacket, rummaging through it. Then, he stopped. "Hey… Where's my…?" He turned, eyes wide. Reid was holding the gun, focusing everything he had while he still could… he pulled the trigger.

"AHH!" Ryan yelped, falling back and clutching his leg. He had been hit in the thigh, and was bleeding profusely. Reid groaned, the gun falling from his fingers. Ryan hissed, stumbling to his feet. He didn't care if he bled out… and he WOULD bleed out; Reid had hit the femoral artery. Ryan only had one concern… finishing what he had started. He stumbled over to Reid, kneeling and removing the handcuffs. He gathered Reid up into his arms and turned, wading into the river.

Reid gasped and twitched slightly on feeling the cold water. Soon, he was floating on his back, gently held in place by Ryan's arms. He opened his eyes slightly. The clouds lit up as lighting streaked across the sky. He vaguely registered thunder again, and the rain began to fall harder until it was coming in torrents…

"Shhhh…" Ryan hissed. "Good night, Dr. Reid… sleep well…" And he let go.

Reid sighed softly, and then felt himself sinking beneath the waters. All was quiet, save for the distant sounds of the storm, and his own pulse pounding in his ears. And even that began to grow slow, and soft… it began to fade… Reid wasn't afraid. He was ready to go.

* * *

The BAU team raced through the brush, ignoring the sharp twigs tearing at their hands and faces. They focused on the bouncing beams from their flashlights.

"THERE!" Morgan yelled, seeing a glint of metal. They ran to the bank of the river. There was a bloody golf club, a belt, handcuffs, a gun, a jacket, and a bottle and syringe.

"… Dilaudid." Prentiss said, looking at the bottle.

"… Where's Reid?" Rossi asked. Morgan pulled out his phone.

"Baby girl… He's not here. Where is he… what? Damn…" He hung up. "Reid's phone turned off. But it never moved from this spot."

"THERE!" Hotchner shouted, and everyone turned, shining their lights into the river. Ryan was wading towards them, a smile on his face. He climbed out, stumbling. They could see the dark blood on his pant leg. He stumbled again, falling, but climbed back to his feet.

"It is finished." He said calmly, as he was pounced and handcuffed.

"Where is he, Vanderwal?!" Hotch demanded. Lightning split the sky.

"There!" Rossi shouted, turning his flashlight into the water. Another flash of lightning, and they got a glimpse of the body floating down the river.

"REID!!!" Morgan shouted and Ryan smiled, watching the man dive into the river and swim after his friend. SWAT dragged Ryan away. Hotch and Rossi ran down the riverbank, following Morgan. He had finally reached Reid.

"Reid… Reid…" Morgan gasped, reaching out and snatching Reid's wrist. He pulled Reid back to him, trying to ignore the sticky wounds around his wrists. "Come on, kid…" Morgan gasped, wrapping an arm around Reid and beginning to swim to shore. The current was getting stronger. Hotch splashed into the river, reaching out to Morgan and pulling him into shore. Rossi knelt on the edge, hooking his hands under Reid's arms and dragging him out onto the bank, laying him out in the grass. Emily knelt, holding out the flashlight so Rossi could see. Rossi looked up when Hotch and Morgan splashed out of the water.

"He's not breathing." He said, urgently, pressing his fingers into Reid's throat; the boy's lips were blue. "No pulse… Emily, go get the paramedics! Now!" He said, taking the flashlight from her.

"Move…" Morgan gasped, swinging a leg over Reid and straddling his hips, pressing the heel of his hand to Reid's chest. "Hotch…" He said, and began thrusting down onto Reid's chest.

"Open his airway." Hotch told Rossi, who tilted Reid's head back. Hotch silently counted Morgan's thrusts, then bent over and covered Reid's mouth with his own, pinching Reid's nose shut and exhaling sharply. Reid's chest swelled as the air filled his lungs. Morgan continued, sweat mixing with the rain and river water on his body. Every now and then, he would stop and let Hotch breathe a couple of breaths into Reid's body.

"Come on, kid…" Rossi gasped, his voice harsh and almost choked. "Don't you give up now."

"Dammit…" Morgan gasped.

"Switch." Rossi ordered, and Morgan nodded. When Hotch gave Reid a couple of breaths, Morgan scrambled off of Reid and Rossi took his place.

"His ribs are ready to go…" Morgan panted, shaking his head. "REID!" He yelped, suddenly. Reid jerked and gasped, then gagged and retched. Morgan jerked Hotch back and Rossi flipped Reid over as he began to cough up water, then vomited. He began to struggle.

"Reid… Reid!" Hotch shouted, grabbing Reid and pulling him close, holding him. "Reid, it's okay… it's me… you're safe."

"We're right here, Reid…" Rossi said, holding tightly to Reid's hands. Morgan reached out, grabbing Reid's shoulder, shaking him slightly.

"Stop fighting Reid… it's all gonna be okay. Look at me, man… It's me… Morgan…" He said. Reid slowly stopped struggling, and he stared at Morgan, eyes wide with fright. Slowly, he pulled a shaking hand away from Rossi and gripped the arm wrapped around his chest.

"… Hotch…" He gasped.

"I'm right here." Hotch said. "Hold on, we'll get you out of here."

"Ryan?"

"We have him, kid." Morgan assured him, and Reid closed his eyes, a look of relief washing over him. A thunder clap startled the four men, and they all looked up at the sky. Rossi looked down a moment later.

"We have to go. The river is rising. I'll go grab the evidence before it gets washed away." He said, standing and jogging over to the tree. Morgan stood, and Hotch lifted Reid up into his arms.

"Come on, Hotch." Morgan said, and the pair began to stumble up the muddy hill, Morgan helping Hotch to stay on his feet and not drop Reid. They met the paramedics halfway, transferring Reid onto a stretcher and taking him to the waiting ambulance.


	15. Chapter 15

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

ONE MONTH LATER

"Good morning!" Reid called out, walking into the BAU with Agent Hotchner.

"Hey, Pretty Boy!" Morgan greeted, making himself some coffee. "Welcome back to active duty!"

"Hey Reid." Garcia said from where she stood with Prentiss and JJ. They were looking at pictures of Henry.

"So… I found a new apartment last night." Reid said, grinning. "It's a lot closer to work."

"Oh? Where?" Emily asked, grinning. She and the girls walked over to Reid.

"I take it Aaron will be happy to have his guest room back?" Rossi asked, chuckling at Hotchner who raised an eyebrow.

"Very much so, yes." He said. Reid scoffed, looking at Hotch.

"Yeah right. Like you were using it for anything." He snorted. Hotch looked at Reid and smirked.

"… That's none of your business." He said. Reid blinked and frowned apprehensively.

"Why am I getting a bad feeling about this… You know what? I think I'll sleep in YOUR bed tonight…" Reid said. The corners of Hotch's mouth twitched. Dammit… he couldn't help it…

"… Are you propositioning me?" He asked and everyone stared, amazed at what had just come out of Hotch's mouth.

"… What?!"

"Well, you just said that you wanted to sleep in my bed. I hope you don't assume that I WOULDN'T be sleeping in my own bed…" Hotchner pointed out. Reid sputtered awkwardly, turning red. The team burst out laughing. After a moment, even Hotch grinned and chuckled, clapping Reid on the shoulder. Then he turned and headed to his office. Reid watched him go, then frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I think you've been stayin with him for WAY too long, kid." Morgan observed, grinning.

"… A month." Reid said, nodding. "But I signed the lease last night, and I can start moving in tomorrow."

"Well hey. Tomorrow is Saturday." Morgan said. "I'll give you a hand."

"And we'll help you decorate." JJ said with a smile. "Make it into a real home."

And the next day, they did. Hotch and Reid were woken by a pounding on the door. Hotch wasn't sure how he felt when he found the whole team on his doorstep, as well as Will wearing baby Henry in a pouch on his chest.

"Mornin' boys." Morgan said, grinning.

"… Hi." Reid said, blinking and rubbing his eyes, then yawning. "… Elle! Gideon! What are you doing here? I thought you went home."

"Aaron called. Said you had a new place." Gideon said.

"We came in for the weekend to help you move." Elle said, smiling. Reid blinked.

"Wow… Thanks." He said, yawning again.

"Awwww… he looks so cute when he first wakes up!" Garcia cooed.

"He looks like an eleven year old who should be sitting down to Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of Fruit Loops." JJ laughed. Reid made a face, then turned and shuffled away. Hotch blinked, and closed the door.

"HEY!" Morgan shouted, banging on it. "Hotch! Come on, man!"

Rossi chuckled, opening the door and walking in. The team followed.

"Stay out of my kitchen, Morgan." Hotch said, walking up the stairs. Morgan snorted… he was wanting to see what Hotch kept around to snack on… Garcia winked at him and waltzed into the kitchen... after all... Hotch hadn't told HER to stay out... The rest of the team waited politely until Hotch and Reid came downstairs. Reid was in jeans and an FBI Academy sweatshirt, and Hotch in Jeans, t shirt and jacket. Reid had his messenger bag, and Hotch was carrying a duffel bag that contained all they had managed to salvage from Reid's old apartment.

"Okay. Let's go." Hotchner said, and they all went outside. Reid blinked.

"Why do we need a… FLEET of cars." He said, staring at the three SUV's.

"We're buying you furniture, remember?" Emily asked. "You got the check from your insurance company?"

"… Uh, yeah." Reid said with a nod.

"So let's go." JJ said.

"Shopping!" Garcia cheered, and the girls dragged Reid to one of the SUV's. Rossi, Hotch, Morgan, Will and Gideon watched, smirking at Reid's stammered protests.

"I feel kinda sorry for'm." Will said, grinning. "He brings out the mother'n JJ."

"He does that with all the girls." Hotch snorted. "He's the baby." Will chuckled.

"Like I said… I feel sorry for'm." The men chuckled and Will went with Morgan, and Rossi and Gideon went with Hotch.

"How's he doing, Aaron?" Gideon asked when they got onto the road.

"He had a bit of a relapse with the water in his lungs, but he recovered quickly. He's in high spirits. His nightmares aren't as bad. He's been dealing with it well. I've kept a close eye on him. He's been going to the Clean Cops meetings because he's afraid of the Dilaudid… They told him that what happened doesn't count against him because he was basically forced, but… you know Reid."

"… Yeah." Gideon said.

"… He's doing fine, Jason." Hotchner assured the elder man. "He's been cleared by the doctors to come back to work. He's ready to come back. He's been wanting to for weeks."

"… He's been driving you crazy, hasn't he?" Gideon asked, grinning.

"If I hear him spout off one more statistic at the dinner table…" Hotch grumbled, and Gideon and Rossi chuckled.

"He's a good kid." Rossi said.

"He is." Gideon and Hotch both agreed.

* * *

Will, Rossi, Hotch, Gideon and Morgan sat in a line on the large leather sofa at the furniture store, watching the girls drag Reid around the place, shoving him down onto sofas, asking how he liked it, and then dragging him off again.

"… Remind me not to ask the team for help if I ever move." Rossi said.

"As long as you're not buying new furniture, you should be fine." Gideon said, smiling. They watched as Reid finally made a decision on a living room set, and they dragged him off to pick a dining set. Fifteen minutes later, he appeared and dropped into the sofa across from the men.

"Remind me why I agreed to this?" He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Because you're young and inexperienced." Morgan said. "You had NO idea what you were getting yourself into."

"Obviously." Reid said, leaning back into the sofa. "I told them to pick one for me."

"Just wait 'til they take you t'pick out linens and towels." Will said, grinning. Reid groaned. Will was right. They ended up at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Well, Reid and the women did. The men decided to ditch the poor boy and take his furniture to his new apartment and get it moved in…

Reid was in that store with the girls for almost five hours.

"What the hell do I need a ladle for?! Or a salad spinner?! Or a… a… what the hell is this?" He grumbled.

"Meat Mallet."

"… Meat Mallet. It's a murder weapon." Reid said, taking it out and ditching it on the nearest shelf between a blender and a food processor. Then he engaged in a thorough argument with the girls over all the kitchen supplies that they insisted that he needed, but that he argued he never had, nor ever would use. In the end, Reid won the argument, but only because he pointed out that HE was the one paying, and that all of this stuff didn't fit in his budget… and besides... Why the hell did he need a bread box?!

He wanted to cry when the girls moved on to picking out curtains… They had to be this color in the bedroom to match his bed set… they had to be this color in the living room to match the décor there… Reid told them, and I quote, 'fuck it', everything was going to be decorate the same to spare his sanity and they could just deal with it. The women just looked at him, then got back to picking out the curtains. And wall art. He apparently HAD to have wall art. Reid just groaned and let them drag him around. He jumped at the chance to ditch them when his phone rang.

"Hey Hotch."

"How are you doing, Reid?"

"… I uh… They're picking out curtains." Reid grumbled.

"… You sound like you're getting married." Hotch chuckled.

"If this is what you go through when you get married, I think I'll stay single." Reid said, smiling slightly. Hotch grinned on the other end.

"Well, we have the furniture in here. We're going to get some lunch. What do you want?"

"A mouthful of hot lead." Reid snorted, and Hotch chuckled again.

"Chinese food it is, then."

"Whatever."

"How soon will you be back?"

"Hopefully before I turn fifty." Hotch chuckled again. "… By five."

"Okay." Hotch said, and hung up. Reid turned and walked back to the girls.

"We have to be back in an hour and a half." He told them, then grunted as Garcia shoved several throw pillows into his arms. He sighed and drooped, following after them and listening to them argue about each object, and whether it was or was not, Reid. After giving up on trying to figure out how he could be personified by one soap dish over another, he finally managed to herd them and the three shopping carts (wait… no… Garcia was running after them with cart number FOUR), into the checkout lane.

Reid just handed his card to Elle and told her to pay, and NOT to tell him how much the total was. He waited until the cashier finished with the first cart (sending Reid sympathetic looks), then took it out to the car. He unloaded it, then waited for the girls to come out with the others.

"Here." Elle said, giving Reid a guilty smile. He took the card and tucked the three and a half foot long receipt into his pocket, refusing to look at it. They finished loading the car and headed to Reid's new apartment.

"Ohhh… This is NICE!" Emily exclaimed when they got there.

"… Yeah. Nice." Reid said, shrugging. "Second floor." He said.

"Obviously." Elle laughed. "You live over a coffee shop?"

"It's a loft." Reid said with another shrug.

"… Figures." JJ giggled.

Rossi, Gideon, Hotch and Morgan came downstairs to help unload the car. Morgan stared. "Damn." He said, upon seeing how much… crap there was. It filled the trunk, the floor around the girls' feet, and they were even holding boxes and bags in their laps. Reid picked up a box of dishes and carried it up the stairs and into his new apartment… loft… whatever. The walls were dark red brick, and it was all one long room with high ceilings.

"I wondered why you wanted EVERYTHING to match." Elle said looking around, then moving into the kitchen area. Reid sighed and hopped up onto the counter, watching as the girls immediately took charge. They shoved the dining table up against the island which separated the kitchen from the rest of the place, then set up the sofa in the middle of the room on top of the dark red rug. The men had already put together the king sized bed against the very back wall (reid still didn't understand why he needed a king, he slept alone for God's sake!). There were doors on either side, one leading to a closet, the other to the bathroom. In the corner was a black iron spiral staircase leading to a rooftop patio... Garcia was upset that Reid had neglected to tell them about that. Reid defended himself saying that the last thing on his mind was patio furniture, then proceeded to unpack what books he had saved from his old apartment and began to neatly put them away on the bookshelves built into the walls on either side of the fire place that Emily decided made this loft perfect for Reid. Apparently, she could see him curling up in front of a fire with a good book on a cold winter night. Reid neglected to mention that he tried to avoid playing with fire and really didn't intend to use the fire place very much... About the time they finished unloading the car, Will got back with the Chinese food. They carried it up and all sat down to eat.

"Awwww… He can finally use them!" Emily teased Reid, ruffling his hair as he ate with the chopsticks. Reid wrinkled his nose at her, smoothing his hair back.

"… This is a cool place, Reid." Morgan said, looking around. Reid smiled and nodded. "But… why a loft?"

"Well… for one, it's only two miles from the BAU…" Reid said. "Two, it's right over a coffee shop…" The group snickered. "And three… It's wide open. No where for someone to hide, save for the closet and bathroom. No one can sneak up on me. That and they have a newly installed security alarm." The group was quiet at that. It wasn't remotely funny…

"Reid… Ryan is dead." Morgan said. "They're all dead."

"I know. But that doesn't mean that something similar can't ever happen." Reid pointed out. "You never know. Maybe they have a deranged cousin or something."

"They don't." Garcia chirped into her fried rice. Reid rolled his eyes.

"That's not the point." He said. No one responded. JJ turned to stick a spoon of baby food into little Henry's mouth. Reid watched, smiling slightly.

The group stayed late into the night. Reid was surprised. With ten sets of hands, he had managed to move in and get settled in one day. Morgan and Will were very handy, and had hung the curtains. They had been patient with the girls telling them just how they should be hung. By midnight, Rossi was taking out the last bag of trash. Reid sighed, looking around.

"I feel like I'm in a Martha Stuart magazine." He said.

"Awww… Thank you." Garcia said, pinching his cheek. "We appreciate that." And the girls laughed. Morgan, Rossi and Hotch rolled their eyes, which made Gideon laugh to himself. He looked at Reid.

"… I guess we'll leave you to settle in then, Spencer." He said. Reid smiled and nodded, watching JJ gather up little Henry who had been put down to sleep in the middle of Reid's bed in a blanket nest.

"Thanks everyone." Reid said. Slowly the group filed out, either hugging him, patting him on the back or squeezing his shoulder. Hotch was the last to leave.

"Reid." He said. "I got you something." He said, and pulled a box out of the kitchen cabinet. Reid blinked. "It's a handgun safe." Hotch explained, handing Reid the metal box. "So you never have to stare down the barrel of your own gun again." Reid stared down at the box, then looked up.

"Hotch… Thanks." He said, and smiled. "Thank you." Hotch nodded.

"We'll check on you tomorrow afternoon. Will you be okay here alone?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Reid said, nodding. "Thanks Hotch." Hotchner nodded at Reid, gripping his shoulder for a moment.

"If you need anything, you have my number."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Goodnight, Reid."

"… Night." Reid said, and closed the door behind him. He locked the door, set the alarm, and locked his gun in the gun safe. Then he walked across the loft, turning out the lights. He went into the bathroom, showered and changed into his pajamas. He went back out in the loft and looked around, then closed the curtains. The only source of light was the small lamp by his bed.

Reid slowly walked across the room and sat down on the bed, reaching into his messenger back. He pulled out the photo of his mother, and the photo of him, Hotch, Gideon and Morgan on the jet. He smiled at them, then set them out on his bedside table. He blinked. There was something else in his messenger bag. Reid pulled it out. It was gift wrapped. Blinking, Reid tore off the paper. Inside was a framed photo.

It was the team. Reid recognized it. Several moths ago, there had been a Bureau Holiday Banquet. It was a photo of the BAU team, all smiling happily in their suits and evening gowns holding glasses of champagne…

Hotch and Rossi were on each end. JJ and Will were next to Hotch, Kevin and Garcia were next to Rossi. In the middle were Reid, Morgan and Emily. Morgan had his arm around Emily and was dipping her back as if dancing. Her face was laughing and she was clutching her champagne glass in one hand, and Reid's arm in another, trying not to fall over. Reid was half laughing as well. He smiled as he stared at the picture. Slowly, he placed it by the others and slid under the blankets of the bed, staring at it for a long time.

Finally, he reached out and turned off the light. He laid his head down on the pillows, pulling the blankets up over him. He curled up, snuggling down into the bed that smelled pleasantly of Febreeze, courtesy of Emily…

He was safe. They were dead.

Graham Vanderwal. He had shot him to death himself.

Neil Vanderwal. He had blown himself up trying to kill Reid to avenge his brother.

Ryan Vanderwal. He had bled to death on the way to the hospital.

They were all gone. Reid was safe.

He sighed and closed his eyes, and slipped into sleep.

This time, there were no nightmares.

~ * ~

E N D

~ * ~


End file.
